Christoph Hartmann takes command of Ubisoft's shooter games

The internal restructuring of the French giant has gained a significant boost that aims to bring order to the company. Executive Christoph Hartmann, widely recognized as the co-founder of 2K Games, has been officially appointed to take the helm of the newly established Creative House 2, one of five operational divisions devised by the multinational to segment its intellectual properties in the market. This strategic division seeks to focus the studios, separating the corporate catalog into well-defined sectors:

CH1 (Vantage Studios) will be responsible for the company’s main franchises (Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six); CH2 will be focused on shooting games; CH3 will work on live service games (For Honor, The Crew, Riders Republic, etc.); CH4 will dedicate its efforts to fantasy and narrative-driven games (Anno, Rayman, Prince of Persia, etc.); and CH5 will focus on casual and family-oriented games (Just Dance, Hungry Shark, Uno, among others).

Under the direct leadership of Christoph Hartmann, the so-called Creative House 2 will focus its efforts on managing brands focused on challenging, competitive, and cooperative gameplay set in battlefields. In practice, this means the new leader will have the challenging task of steering the course of well-established franchises that had been somewhat neglected or mishandled by the company, such as The Division, Ghost Recon, and the highly anticipated return of Splinter Cell. Bringing a veteran mind to coordinate talented teams from Massive, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Paris, and Ubisoft Toronto seems like the perfect move to reclaim the tactical identity that made the audience fall in love with these titles in the past.

The new hire's resume is impressive for its consistency behind the scenes of the industry. Christoph Hartmann began his career in the 90s at BMG Interactive, the publisher of the very first Grand Theft Auto 1, later transitioning to Rockstar Games after its acquisition by Take-Two. In 2005, he helped establish 2K Games, where he remained until 2017, making his mark as president overseeing giants like BioShock, Borderlands, Mafia, Sid Meier's Civilization, and XCOM. More recently, he served as vice-president at Amazon Games, where he closely monitored the creation of March of Giants, a new IP acquired by Ubisoft at the end of last year, which also was placed under the shooting games umbrella.

The French publisher’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, celebrated the hiring in an official statement, highlighting that the executive's management style brings a rare understanding of what is needed to get the best from creative teams and build enduring brands.

The Christoph Hartmann himself expressed alignment with the new teams, stating that the division’s goal is to provide structure and support for developers to create intense experiences. There is hope that this organizational change will give the studios the necessary autonomy, freeing creators from bureaucratic shackles and generic decisions that have been undermining the brand's recent releases.