Ubisoft Talking to Netflix About Making a TV Series
By Kyle Sledge 25 October 2016
Video game publisher and developer Ubisoft reveals it is currently in talks with the streaming service Netflix to potentially create a brand new television series.
As of late, Ubisoft is no stranger when it comes to adapting the video game versions of its intellectual properties into live-action products. For instance, the company’s Assassin’s Creed series is set to receive its first full-fledged theatrical release this December with the Academy Award-nominated actor Michael Fassbender in the lead role.
Now, it seems as if Ubisoft is prepared to set its sights on the small screen, as the publisher and developer is discussing the possibility of producing a television series with the massively popular video streaming service Netflix. As it happens, Reuters officially reported that the company’s CEO Yves Guillemot stated on Monday that Ubisoft was “in talks with Netflix over a series.”
Details are scant at the moment, but according to the report, Ubisoft’s Guillemot declared that the Netflix talks were a part of a response to Vivendi’s acquisition of extra stock shares in the game company. As one would surmise, it’s more than likely that the television series would be an adaptation of one of Ubisoft’s properties, but, of course, it’s not guaranteed. However, it would be strange for the company to not capitalize on the popularity of a preexisting franchise and opt to make a totally original program instead.
Should Ubisoft eventually hammer out a deal to create its own show for Netflix, it will be joining the ranks of other video game publishers and developers that have done so. For example, the company’s competitor in Activision recently released Skylanders Academy on Netflix, which Activision declares to be the streaming platform’s first original show based on a video game property.
Like Activision’s own Activision-Blizzard Studios for television and film projects, Ubisoft also has a movie and TV studio, dubbed Ubisoft Motion Pictures. The sector of the company produced the Rabbids Invasion TV show for Nickelodeon, and is also planning on putting out a movie based on its third-person shooter The Division starring actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
Taking all of this into consideration, Ubisoft’s decision to potentially foray into television with Netflix would undoubtedly become a lucrative venture, especially should the company center the series around one of its more kid-friendly properties like Rayman: Origins, as it could market and sell lots of colorful toys and ancillary products. Naturally, though, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will come of Ubisoft’s negotiations with Netflix, but the company could end up surprising everyone by catering to more mature audiences with a series focusing on one of its Tom Clancy titles like, say, Splinter Cell.
Ubisoft‘s next major video game release is Watch Dogs 2, and it’s set to launch on November 15, 2016 PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on November 29, 2016 for PC.
Source: Reuters (via GameSpot)
