And the news just goes from bad to worse -- it does look like the Ubisoft is truly circling the drain... Loyal Fans, a gigantic market, amazing IP, and enormously talented Studios burned to the ground for over a decade... This last point -- what Ubisoft did to its Studios especially demonstrates just how completely the Publisher burned its bridges.
A Publisher that micro-manages Studio development where previously enormously successful and popular IP was made without that oversight and micro-management, and it gets so bad key and even lead talent that built those Studios and their IP leave, after repeated demonstrations of poorer and poorer sales, bad reviews etc. -- is no different than if a Print Press Publisher were to micro-manage what an Author writes...
Can anyone imagine if Penguin, Random House, or Sphere were to have told Tom Clancy, "The story line is okay, but we want all the main characters to be trans circus clowns and drag queens...and we don't want any realistic depictions of conflict, we want cartoon depictions that are humorous, and we'll have our Ghostwriter do it for you..."? And they did this after Tom Clancy and written his third best seller... Would that work?
This is not to suggest there isn't a valid market for whatever it is a Publisher might want, or in the case of Ubisoft prefer and to develop alternative IP that targets that market or idea -- but to to so completely subvert and obviate Studios and talent that have demonstrated they understand their genre, market and audience as well as Red Storm and Massive Entertainment did (and studios like Grin and Crytek that worked so hard and were just getting there) -- is beyond appalling...
That Ubisoft did this, relentlessly, across its entire Studios portfolio & IP stack, in the face of decades of enormous Fan & Review criticism, tanking sales, -- shouldn't make any of the current outcomes a shock or surprise to anyone. Hopefully, the IP will be acquired by a party or parties that understand the enormous squandered potential, and/or will put someone in charge that does as there remains an enormous hole in the Tactical Realism and Stealth gaming market that hasn't been filled filled with competent 'AAA' titles for over a decade...