In what many are calling a brazen display of nepotism that has left the gaming world fuming, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot—whose family has helmed the company’s catastrophic decline—has installed his son, Charlie Guillemot, as co-CEO of a newly spun-off subsidiary controlling the publisher’s crown jewel IPs.
Announced on July 16, 2025, just as Ubisoft grapples with financial ruin, the move hands Charlie oversight of blockbuster franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, despite his track record of failed ventures in the volatile NFT space.
Bayek from Assassin’s Creed Origins – YouTube, Ubisoft North America
This appointment, amid whispers of the Guillemot dynasty’s iron grip on a sinking ship, has ignited accusations of favoritism, with X users mocking it as the epitome of “nepobaby” entitlement in an industry reeling from Ubisoft’s self-inflicted wounds.
Charlie Guillemot has been appointed co-CEO of Ubisoft’s new Tencent-funded subsidiary, addressing nepotism claims by emphasizing his experience and vision for the company.
He aims to innovate and adapt to industry changes alongside co-CEO Christophe Derennes.
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/vAfv8N5Ihb
— playswave 🎮 🌊 (@playswave_com) July 17, 2025
Charlie Guillemot, who will co-lead alongside Ubisoft’s North American managing director Christophe Derennes, brushed off Ubisoft nepotism concerns with a tone-deaf quip: “What matters now isn’t my name, it’s the work ahead.”
Critics weren’t buying it, with one reddit post retorting, “That’s what all nepobabies say,” as outrage swelled over the Guillemot family’s apparent refusal to loosen their hold despite overseeing years of flops, delays, and financial hemorrhaging.
Key art for XDefiant (2024), Ubisoft
Charlie’s resume hardly inspires confidence. He previously managed Ubisoft’s mobile studio Owlient but bolted in 2023 to co-found Unagi, a Paris-based Web3 gaming startup chasing the NFT and AI hype train.
Backed by Binance, Unagi peddled anime avatars, blockchain gaming, and fantasy sports platforms—only to crash and burn amid the NFT market’s implosion, forcing his sheepish return to Ubisoft’s “transformation committee” in 2025. Handing him the reins of a subsidiary valued at €4 billion? It’s a slap in the face to employees enduring layoffs and fans watching beloved IPs falter under the Guillemots’ watch.
The Tencent Deal: Desperation Wrapped in a Bow
This nepotistic power play stems from Ubisoft’s controversial pact with Chinese giant Tencent, announced on March 27, 2025, as a desperate bid to stave off collapse.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (2015), Ubisoft
Tencent is ponying up €1.16 billion (about $1.25 billion) for a 25% stake in the French-headquartered subsidiary, granting it exclusive worldwide licenses to Ubisoft’s top earners while Ubisoft clings to majority ownership.
The deal, set to close by year’s end pending approvals, is pitched as a way to “accelerate transformation” and slash debt amid a fiscal nightmare of plunging revenues and title disasters.
A screenshot from Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (2013), Ubisoft
But skeptics see it for what it is: a fire sale of assets, with Tencent siphoning royalties from the publisher’s lifeblood franchises in perpetuity.
Ubisoft’s enterprise value hovers at a pitiful €3.1 billion—less than the subsidiary alone—underscoring the Guillemots’ mismanagement that has tanked the stock over 20% post-announcement.
A screenshot from Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (2013), Ubisoft
On X, the deal is derided as proof of insolvency, with users linking it to flops like Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Investor Fury: Calls for Overhaul and Outright Sale
Shareholders are apoplectic, launching open letters and legal salvos demanding a renegotiation or full IP sale to Tencent at no less than €15 per share.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Groups like AJ Investments blast the terms as undervalued and opaque, arguing it fragments the company and shafts existing holders.
Layoffs Rage On: Human Toll of Guillemot’s Legacy
Even with Tencent’s cash looming, the Guillemots’ cost-cutting bloodbath continues unabated.
On July 9, 2025, Ubisoft gutted 19 roles at Red Storm Entertainment—the team behind Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and Star Trek: Bridge Crew—as part of “targeted restructuring.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
This piles onto over 3,000 layoffs since September 2022, with projections of €200 million in fixed cost slashes by FY 2025-26.
As Ubisoft lurches toward oblivion, the Guillemot clan’s crowning of Charlie—fresh from NFT wreckage—symbolizes everything wrong: entitlement over merit, family loyalty over competence.
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
Will this Tencent tether save the empire, or snap under the weight of backlash? With morale shattered and battles raging, the Guillemots’ threadbare legacy may finally unravel.
Do you believe Ubisoft is showing nepotism with the appointment of Charlie Guillemot? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
The same guy whose every decision has tanked a once-thriving video game company is…making more decisions and even handing the reins of their SHELL company to his son whom he’s no doubt going to use as a proxy.
What’s the definition of insanity again?
They are trying to bail out the Titanic using a dixie cup then Yves goes and blows another giant hole in the side of the ship with this appointment.
It is clear Ubi and this new subsidiary need to completely fail in order to get competent management. Or maybe their next generation of games won’t pander to identity politics and will be worth playing.
I’d love to see the Guillemot family to be kicked out and left destitute but I know they’ve probably got their bailout ready to go. The little people would be most affected, as usual. But if they start making good games again I think most people would be fine with that situation.
If the employees had any sense, they’d quit and go work elsewhere. In line with your Titanic analogy, the employees are on the deck watching as the ship steers into the iceberg as the Guillemots cut the ropes of the life boats except the one they’re piling into.