Ubisoft was an early collaborator with Nintendo on the 2006 hit Wii platform.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is betting again on virtual reality ahead of Apple’s Vision Pro headset’s debut next year.
After a decade of free-to-play smartphone games and cloud-streamed titles, Guillemot believes VR will be the next industry disruptor.
At a Los Angeles corporate showcase event Monday, he told AFP that VR will come.
“Apple investing massively in the field is fantastic for all of us,” he continued.
Apple joins Facebook’s Meta, which drove VR video games, in pressuring companies to adapt successful titles for its virtual reality Quest gadget with Vision Pro.
“Apple’s commitment and investment will take that industry to a new level,” said Guillemot, and Ubisoft “for sure” plans to make Vision Pro titles.
“It’s going to come,” Guillemot added, once enough $3,500 headsets are in users’ hands.
Expanding vistas
“Designing games for new platforms doesn’t always work out perfectly,” said Circana’s executive director of videogames Mat Piscatella.
“But, by supporting new market entrants, Ubisoft is usually well-positioned should that new product or service type succeed,” the analyst noted.
In an era of gaming industry centralization, Piscatella lauded Ubisoft’s diversification policy.
CEO Guillemot said Ubisoft will keep expanding into streaming video.
Ubisoft created the AppleTV comedy “Mythic Quest,” based in a video game company.
On Monday, Netflix revealed that their animated series “Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix” will launch later this year.
Ubisoft characters appear in “a dystopian, cyberpunk version of 1992” throughout the series.
“We want our brands to reach more players worldwide,” Guillemot told AFP.
“Being on Netflix or Amazon Prime or other networks can make those brands better known and let everyone in the world participate in our creations.”
Ubisoft revealed a free-to-play “Assassin’s Creed” game and a virtual reality version compatible with Meta’s Quest gear during its Los Angeles presentation Monday.
Ubisoft also revealed “Avatar” and “Star Wars Outlaws” games with LucasFilm.
AI games
Guillemot predicted AI would also disrupt video games.
He called generative AI a “fantastic opportunity,” especially because consumers have embraced the technology since the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT bot was unveiled late last year.
“It changed everything,” Guillemot remarked.
“Games will be more intelligent; as game creators, we have to see how close we can get to real life.”
For instance, generative AI may employ cloud computing capacity to give every character in a game a spontaneous existence, similar to meeting a stranger on the street.
“We’ve always surprised gamers with new things,” Guillemot added.
“Gen AI, VR, and cloud will make the industry more attractive and fun.”