Ubisoft launches publishing house
New Ubisoft Publishing initiative will manage books based on company's IP from conception to print
Ubisoft is expanding on its multimedia aspirations. The company today announced that it is launching an Ubisoft Publishing imprint to handle some of its game properties' future print spin-offs.
Ubisoft president Laurent Detoc said the company will continue working with partners like Penguin Random House and Scholastic in some cases, but it is also going to use its own in-house creative talent to realize more of its transmedia ambitions.
"With this team, we are owning creative control from initial concept to print, selecting the writers we work with, editing, artwork, the look and feel of the jacket, etc.," Detoc said. "We know our brands and their individual stories very intimately, so we're leveraging our in-house expertise to continue to propel our brands and explore and dive into narratives that will be compelling to fans and new readers alike."
The first two projects to come out of Ubisoft Publishing will be a novel, Assassin's Creed: Heresy, and Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide, both due out November 15.
This is not the first time Ubisoft has taken a more hands-on approach to its brand extensions. In 2011, the company formed its own film and TV studio, Ubisoft Motion Pictures. That division has co-produced the Rabbids TV show and this coming December's Assassin's Creed movie, and is working to realize films based on Ubisoft properties like Splinter Cell, The Division, and Watch Dogs.