French publishing giant Ubisoft has appointed Tencent and 2K veteran Julien Bares as general manager of its newly-formed Creative Houses 3 and 5.
Bares was previously the VP of Tencent Games, a position he took up in September 2020. Prior to that, his CV includes an almost-nine-year-long stint as general manager of 2K China, following an eight-year stint as a producer at Ubisoft. Bares has also held board positions at companies including Splash Damage, Tequila Works, Don’t Nod and Sharkmob.
Creative House 3 focuses on live games, while Creative House 5’s speciality is mobile and casual games.
“I entered the games industry to create experiences that resonate with players,” Bares said.
“Leading Creative Houses 3 and 5 is an opportunity to partner with incredibly talented teams to build innovative games and deepen the connections we have with our communities. By combining powerful technology and smart collaboration across our studios, we can push the boundaries and continue building on Ubisoft’s unique creative culture.”
Meanwhile, Ubisoft has named Thomas Andrén as the general manager of its Creative Network a newly-created arm that will provide “best-in-class production capacity”. In this position, he will help out with Creative Houses across “a wide array of development mandates”.
Andrén joined Ubisoft’s Massive studio as managing director in October 2021. Two years later, he was promoted to regional MD for the company’s Sweden, Finland and Romania businesses. Prior to that, he spent five years at Red Bee Media and five-and-a-half-years at tech firm Ericsson.
“The Creative Network within Ubisoft’s new operating model represents an incredible concentration of expertise, craftsmanship, and innovation,” Andrén said.
“Each studio brings its own unique strengths and capabilities, and by strengthening collaboration across the network and with our Creative Houses, we can combine agility with world-class expertise to support the development of ambitious games and deliver great new experiences for players.”
Ubisoft unveiled its Creative House structure in January of this year. This follows the company’s creation of the Tencent-backed Vantage Studios subsidiary, aka Creative House 1. At the same time, the company cancelled six projects and announced a €200 million round of cost-cutting.
“I am very pleased to see Julien and Thomas stepping into these strategic roles. They both bring proven experience in game development and a shared passion for our industry,” Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said.
“Their vision and their ability to bring together top talent will be key to creating compelling experiences that delight players, while contributing to Ubisoft’s transformation and growth.”
