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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99Subscribe now Essential Hardware Dune: Awakening PC Gaming Show Recommended reading Game Development The Assassin's Creed Shadows delay worked out so well for Ubisoft its CEO decided, hey, let's do a couple more for the road—and save 100 million more euros while we're at it Gaming Industry Embracer CEO who oversaw the staggering $2B blunder that led to studio closures and layoffs is now set to become its executive chair, focusing on 'mergers and acquisitions and capital allocation' Gaming Industry Former Ubisoft execs face trial in France this week on charges of 'moral and sexual harassment' Gaming Industry MindsEye is set to launch next week, so it's probably not great that the studio's chief financial officer and chief legal officer have both resigned Gaming Industry French court finds 3 former Ubisoft executives guilty of workplace harassment Discord confirms it's moving toward 'becoming a public company' as it hires a former Activision executive as its new CEO Third Person Shooter MindsEye boss reportedly blames its failure on 'saboteurs' and says a re-launch is in the works, even as the entire development studio is at risk of layoff Gaming Industry After leaving Ubisoft to launch an anime avatar AI/NFT startup, Yves Guillemot's son returns to take charge of its new Tencent-backed Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow 6 subsidiary Andy Chalk 16 July 2025 Meet the new boss. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Ubisoft) When Ubisoft and Tencent announced the creation of a new company that will take control of Ubi's Big Three—Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six—the obvious question, for me at least, was, who's really going to be in charge here? Ubisoft has the games, yes, but Tencent has the money. Today we got our answer, and it turns out that it's not the games that really matter, but the name—and that name is Guillemot. "Ubisoft announces the next step in the roadmap of its new subsidiary—introduced on March 27th—with the appointment of Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot as co-CEOs," the company announced today. "With complementary backgrounds, Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot bring strong industry expertise, deep knowledge of the Ubisoft ecosystem, and a shared culture of innovation." That new subsidiary is the result of talks between Ubisoft and Tencent, spurred by Ubisoft's potentially existential struggles and Tencent's urge to own a piece of pretty much everything. Tencent is already Ubisoft's second-largest shareholder, but is restricted in how much influence it has over the company, which remains firmly under the control of the Guillemot family. Related Articles The Assassin's Creed Shadows delay worked out so well for Ubisoft its CEO decided, hey, let's do a couple more for the road—and save 100 million more euros while we're at it Embracer CEO who oversaw the staggering $2B blunder that led to studio closures and layoffs is now set to become its executive chair, focusing on 'mergers and acquisitions and capital allocation' Former Ubisoft execs face trial in France this week on charges of 'moral and sexual harassment' Charlie is not one of the five Guillemot brothers who founded Ubisoft—Christian, Claude, Gerard, Michel, and Yves—but rather the son of Yves, Ubisoft's longtime CEO. Here's what Ubisoft says Charlie brings to table, aside from being a nepo baby: "Charlie Guillemot has built a hybrid career at the intersection of management and innovation. He brings an entrepreneurial perspective and a sharp understanding of evolving industry dynamics and players’ expectations, shaped by his experience in game development. With a strong product mindset, deep tech culture, and a passion for games, he represents a new generation of leadership focused on innovation, quality, and putting players at the centre of decision-making." The press release doesn't mention any specific games Charlie has worked on previously, but he does have at least one credit to his name: Mobygames lists his as studio manager and creative director on Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, a mobile shooter best remembered for forcing an apology from Ubisoft over its "insensitive and harmful" use of imagery related to historically important movements including Black Lives Matter. Ubisoft pulled the plug on Elite Squad in July 2021, less than a year after it launched; Charlie Guillemot had resigned from Ubisoft's Owlient studio, the game's developer, a couple months prior to that announcement. After leaving Ubisoft, he co-founded Unagi, a Web3 gaming, AI, and NFT company. And now he's in charge of Ubisoft's biggest properties. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Not alone, to be clear, and I don't mean to sell Christophe Derennes short in any way. Derennes has been with Ubisoft for more than 35 years, "launched and led" Ubisoft Montreal, served as managing director of Ubisoft's operations in North America, and has credits on dozens of Ubisoft games. He's clearly an experienced hand and has a long history with the games being taken over by this new entity. That could lead one to wonder: Why does he need Charlie as co-CEO? It's possible that Ubisoft hopes the injection of (relatively) young blood with fresh perspectives will counterbalance any potential "stuck in his ways" approach of a guy who's been around for decades—a Chico Gonzalez to Dirty Harry Callahan, if you will. In fact, Ubisoft said as much in today's announcement: "Returning to Ubisoft in 2025 to join its internal transformation committee, Charlie has brought a fresh perspective, in-depth knowledge of the industry and a commitment to combining innovation with a player-first mindset." So yeah, that might be it. Might be something else, too. His name just has a certain je ne sais quoi to it, doesn't it? Whatever the reason for the pairing, Guillemot and Derennes "will lead the subsidiary in building evergreen, multi-platform game ecosystems and writing the next chapter of Ubisoft’s renowned franchises," Ubisoft said. "Backed by growing investments and Tencent’s expertise as a core strategic partner, it will give development teams greater autonomy and agility to fully unlock the potential of these iconic games, while shaping the next generation of player experiences." Tencent's investment in the new Ubisoft subsidiary is expected to be concluded by the end of 2025, but remains subject to regulatory approval. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releases Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Assassin's Creed Rainbow Six Social Links Navigation US News Lead Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. The Assassin's Creed Shadows delay worked out so well for Ubisoft its CEO decided, hey, let's do a couple more for the road—and save 100 million more euros while we're at it Embracer CEO who oversaw the staggering $2B blunder that led to studio closures and layoffs is now set to become its executive chair, focusing on 'mergers and acquisitions and capital allocation' Former Ubisoft execs face trial in France this week on charges of 'moral and sexual harassment' MindsEye is set to launch next week, so it's probably not great that the studio's chief financial officer and chief legal officer have both resigned French court finds 3 former Ubisoft executives guilty of workplace harassment Discord confirms it's moving toward 'becoming a public company' as it hires a former Activision executive as its new CEO Latest in Gaming Industry Unknown Worlds founders' lawsuit accuses Krafton of a 'months-long campaign to delay Subnautica 2' so it wouldn't have to pay $250M earnout Microsoft's 200 laid-off King devs are reportedly being replaced by AI they helped build, while its 'absolute 's***show' HR department looks away and whistles 'A future has been stolen from many of us and our community will never experience an amazing game': Microsoft MMO devs respond to cancelation of project Phil Spencer reportedly loved 'A game, once sold, belongs to the customer': Prominent EU politician stands up for Stop Killing Games OpenAI is making its own browser, presumably to spite Google and cut out the middleman when collecting user data Microsoft shareholders demand report into the company's 'human rights due diligence' over allegations of war crime complicity in Gaza Latest in News An absolute Elden Ring madlad just soloed Nightreign's most-hated boss at level 1 with the power of Sekiro parries Unknown Worlds founders' lawsuit accuses Krafton of a 'months-long campaign to delay Subnautica 2' so it wouldn't have to pay $250M earnout Umamusume players are engaging in unhinged summoning rituals to enlist the aid of Egyptian gods and biblically accurate angels for the release of a really good horse card Seven months after putting Johnny Silverhand in your car, Cyberpunk 2077's latest update will let you kick him out Reddit just had a meltdown for a moment: 'no content to display' on any subreddits, before deploying a server fix in surely record time The US squeezed Nvidia's AI chip export deal with China into negotiations over important rare earth elements, bizarrely claiming 'we put that in the trade deal with the magnets' HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best PCIe 5.0 SSD for gaming in 2025: the only Gen 5 drives I will allow in my PC Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Thermaltake S100 TG Snow Edition review Cooler Master Hyper 212 Pro review Razer Pro Click V2 Vertical Edition review Keychron M7 8K Wireless review Corsair MAKR 75 keyboard review PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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