Ubi Soft has acquired the games division of The Learning Company from Gores Technology Group.
French games publisher Ubi Soft has confirmed that it will acquire the games division from The Learning Company from Gores Technology Group, which had acquired it from Mattel in October 2000.
With this acquisition, Ubi Soft will add some valuable franchises such as Myst, the popular adventure game, to its portfolio. The latest installment of the franchise, Myst III: Exile, will be published soon. The acquisition will also add the SSI brand, which is popular among wargamers. Other key titles include Prince of Persia 3D and Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. These titles will reinforce Ubi Soft’s portfolio, notably in adventure games, a popular genre for many consumers.
Ubi Soft has for a long time limited itself to a strategy based on internal growth. While the publisher has been showing very healthy results and a rising share price, it left itself open, during this period, to be outpaced by its competitors, such as Infogrames, who has entered into a frenzy of acquisitions to reach a critical mass.
This acquisition is further proof that Ubi Soft is now definitely embracing acquisitions as part of its strategy for future growth. Indeed, the French publisher has already recently departed from its historical strategy to acquire two other games developers: Red Storm Entertainment, makers of Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear, in August 2000 and Blue Byte, owners of the Settlers franchise, in February 2001.
This new course of action will prove to be positive for Ubi Soft in the long term. Quality content has always been the winning asset in the games industry. While Ubi Soft has several blockbusters in its portfolio, notably Rayman, the hugely popular platform game, it needs to fill certain gaps in its portfolio. This acquisition serves exactly this purpose.
