Charlie Guillemot has addressed concerns of nepotism after being named co-CEO of Ubisoft’s new Tencent-funded subsidiary, following in the footsteps of his father Yves Guillemot.

Ubisoft announced in March it was launching a new subsidiary with €1.16bn of investment from Chinese conglomerate Tencent. This subsidiary will be the home of the company’s biggest franchises: Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry.

Now the company has named Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot as co-CEOs. Derennes has spent over 35 years at Ubisoft, co-founded Ubisoft’s Montreal studio in 1997, and most recently served as managing director for the company’s North American output.

Charlie Guillemot, meanwhile, began his career in 2014 at Owlient, a studio acquired by Ubisoft. The studio’s biggest release, mobile game Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad, was shut down a year after launch having failed to find an audience. Before that, the game was embroiled in controversy following accusations of including imagery promoting alt-right Black Lives Matter conspiracy theories.

After this, Guillemot left Ubisoft to co-found Unagi, a company known for Web3 gaming, AI, and NFTs.

In a press release announcing its new subsidiary co-CEOs, Ubisoft stated: “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.”

In an interview with Variety, Guillemot then directly addressed any concerns of nepotism, following in the footsteps of his father.

“Yes, I’m Yves’ son,” he said. “That’s not something I hide from. But my appointment isn’t only about family ties; it’s about what Ubisoft needs at this moment.”

He continued: “I’ve spent the last decade building experience both inside and outside Ubisoft, leading teams, managing brands, and navigating change in a fast-moving industry. I also made the conscious choice to step away when it made sense, to learn and grow elsewhere.

“What matters now isn’t my name, it’s the work ahead. Ubisoft is at a pivotal moment. What’s expected of me is to help push the company forward by bringing energy, focus, and by relying on the incredible expertise that already exists across the teams. I see myself as someone here to contribute, support, and help create the right conditions are in place for everyone to do their best work.”

In the same interview, the co-CEOs detailed how their roles will complement each other. Guillemot will be “in charge of the ‘what'”, focusing on creative direction and marketing of the company’s brands. Derennes will be focused on production and technology – the “how”.

In a separate interview published by Ubisoft, the pair also spoke of opportunities for growth in the games industry today.

“The biggest difference today is that the market is stable, compared to the previous decades in which there were massive disruptions one after the other which brought big changes – I’m thinking of the new console releases and the arrival of online gaming, to name a few,” said Guillemot. “Of course, generative AI and cloud are likely to revolutionise game creation and the player experience in the long term, but what really matters today is standing out. That means being able to offer high-quality content, and sometimes that means shorter content, speaking to new generations that consume content in a different way. I’m convinced the industry will face new tech disruptions we can’t fully predict yet. And Ubisoft intends to play an active role in shaping that future.”

Derennes, meanwhile, spoke of expanding franchises beyond games. “Whether as references, as new ways of telling a story or as ever-expanding transmedia universes, video games’ cultural impact as the tenth art is a reality. And this reality is exactly what we aim to capture with this new organisation,” he said.

Back in May, Ubisoft stated it had postponed several of its “biggest productions” to allow for more development time, following in the footsteps of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.