A new report details that Cameron Lee, Ubisoft’s Vice President of Rainbow Six, left the company.
Cameron Lee via Ubisoft.com
Tom Henderson at Insider Gaming reported that an email sent to staff revealed, “For the time being, the role of VP and Executive Producer for the Rainbow Six brand will not be replaced.”
It is unclear why Lee decided to leave Ubisoft.
A screenshot from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (2015), Ubisoft
Lee joined Ubisoft as the Vice President and Executive Producer of Rainbow Six back in April 2022. In a press release at the time, the company stated that Lee would be “responsible for creating the long-term brand strategy for the Rainbow Six franchise, and aligning and collaborating with all internal partners.”
Lee previously was a Vice President of Production at Activision, the General Manager of New IP at Bungie, and a Lead Producer at both BioWare and Electronic Arts dating back to October 2008.
A screenshot from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (2015), Ubisoft
Lee shared back then, “What drew me to Ubisoft was the priority placed on creativity on a scale not seen elsewhere in the industry and the investment in our top franchises like Rainbow Six to really unleash our imaginations for our players.”
“I’m inspired by the people across all our Ubisoft studios and their incredible passion for creativity and quality gameplay, and I’m excited to see what we can do together as we look to new player experiences, platforms, and entertainment as a whole,” he added.
A screenshot from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (2015), Ubisoft
READ: Ubisoft Allegedly Spent Between $650 And $850 Million On Its AAAA Game ‘Skull And Bones’
Rainbow Six appeared to be one of if not the only bright spot in Ubisoft’s portfolio at least financially. The company reported during its first quarter sales report in July that Rainbow Six Siege had a 34% increase in sessions days and 18% increase in session days per player compared to the previous year. The company also noted it saw “growth in monetization” as well.
In fact, it noted, “This quarter saw Year 9 Season 1 become the highest grossing season in Siege’s history as well as the full release of the marketplace, that continued to see a sustained level of transactions.”
While Rainbow Six Siege appeared to be in a good spot, the company did delay its Rainbow Six Mobile game. The company announced, “Rainbow Six® Mobile and The Division® Resurgence are no longer expected in FY25 as the teams are taking the necessary time to ensure that these experiences deliver on expectations with optimized KPIs in the context of a demanding yet very large market.”
A screenshot from Rainbow Six Mobile (TBD), Ubisoft
Lee’s exit comes after a disastrous announcement that the company was significantly lowering its yearly net bookings to “around €1.95bn, and around break-even non-IFRS operating income and free cash flow.”
It also lowered its net bookings for the second quarter by 30% from €500 million to between €350 million to €370 million. Ubisoft laid most of the blame on a “softer than expected launch for Star Wars Outlaws.” A rumor claims the game only sold 1 million units while analysts were expecting at minimum 5 million units.
CEO Yves Guillemot would also put the blame on XDefiant seemingly confirming rumors that the game is struggling during a Trading Update call. Guillemot stated, “We also had behind expectations for XDefiant, which we will give you a bit more detail at the end of October.”
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
Given Ubisoft’s poor performance, investment firm AJ Investments revealed to Reuters that it had “gathered support from 10% of the French videogame publishers shareholders” and that it wants “management of Ubisoft to allow the sale of the company to third parties or private equity firms at a fair price.”
The firm had previously called for CEO Yves Guillemot to be replaced. The firm declared in an open letter, “We suggest that Ubisoft allow shareholders to vote for new CEO and allow sale of the business to PE group or let the Guillemot-led consortium to buy-out minorities for fair price.”
In fact, the firm called for a total re-evaluation of current management, ” Re-evaluate the current management team and governance structure. It is crucial to have a leadership team that is capable of driving the company forward and delivering shareholder value. Consider hiring new CEO who would run Ubisoft more efficiently who has proven record of running companies such Ubisoft.”
Yves Guillemot via Ubisoft North America YouTube
What do you make of Lee exiting the company?
