Assassin's Creed: Valhalla - Production, Distribution & Circulation

Question 1

What is Ubisoft?

Answer 1

Ubisoft is a French video game publisher (head-quartered in Paris), known for publishing other games for several acclaimed video game franchises including Far Cry, Just Dance, Prince of Persia, Rayman, Raving Rabbids, and the Tom Clancy series (including Rainbow
Six). It is the fourth largest publicly-traded game company in the Americas and Europe.

Question 2

What subsidaries do Ubisoft own?

Answer 2

Ubisoft owns many multinational subsidiaries (most are games development companies) including: Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Sofia, Ubisoft Milan,
Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Toronto, Gameloft, Griptonite Games, Blue Byte, etc.

Question 3

How did Ubisoft utilise their subsidaries in terms of game development?

Answer 3

• Many of these subsidiaries are responsible (or have been) for the design, development and testing of a selection of the Assassin’s Creed games.
• In many cases these organisations are employed on a rota basis to ensure games in the franchise are constantly being developed.
• E.g. As Ubisoft Quebec were completing Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey in 2018, Ubisoft Montreal were already underway developing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla for 2020.

Question 4

How often is a new Assassin’s Creed game released?

Answer 4

• Initially the aim of Ubisoft was to have at least one Assassin’s Creed game released per year since it’s inception
• However with a recent dip in sales / quality, the organisation has decided to forgo this strategy to focus on better quality products / output within the
  franchise (hence the two year gap between Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Valhalla).

Question 5

How is AC:Valhalla released?

Answer 5

• Assassin’s Creed is considered a AAA Video Game Release; an anticipated video game release, backed by heavy funding for advertising and promotion.
• Many of the games in the franchise tend to be released simultaneously across all major platforms (including the latest generation of consoles) to capitalise / profit across all video game markets.

Question 6

How does Ubisoft use narrative connections and game-play in their games and what is the intended effect?

Answer 6

• Similar themes, game-play and narrative connections (a futuristic setting where individuals can use technology to revisit the memories of their ancestors within pertinent
  moments in human history) offer fans of the franchise an impetus to continue to invest in the latest chapter of the series.

Question 7

What are some ways popular games are released? What dates do they typically occur at?

Answer 7

• Most popular games are released worldwide on the same date (some at special events or midnight launches), although there have been occasions when releases are staggered to better suit the market / trends of that country / region.
• The date in question tends to coincide with major seasonal events (in time for Christmas or Summer holidays, etc.)