Ubisoft Expands MOBA Portfolio by Acquiring March of Giants and Amazon Games Montreal Team
In a move that feels a bit like a tactical respawn, Ubisoft has officially acquired the rights to the free-to-play MOBA March of Giants. But they didn’t just buy the IP. They also picked up the entire Amazon Games Montreal studio responsible for building it. If you have been following the industry drama lately, this acquisition feels less like a simple business transaction and more like a homecoming reunion episode for the developers involved.
The deal, which closed in mid-December, sees the Montreal team transitioning directly under the Ubisoft banner to continue their work. While financial terms weren’t disclosed, the narrative here is pretty clear. Ubisoft is looking to bolster its live-service arsenal, and Amazon is continuing its slow, somewhat painful pivot away from internal AAA development after a rough couple of years.
A Homecoming for the Rainbow Six Siege Veterans
The most interesting part of this story isn’t just the game itself. It is the people making it. Amazon Games Montreal was founded by industry vets who made their names at, you guessed it, Ubisoft.
Leading the charge are senior production lead Alex Parizeau and creative director Xavier Marquis. If those names sound familiar to shooter fans, they should. Marquis was the original creative director behind Rainbow Six Siege, a game that essentially defined the modern tactical shooter and proved Ubisoft knows how to run a long-term live service game. Parizeau previously served as the managing director at Ubisoft Toronto.
“Returning to Ubisoft brings things full circle,” Marquis said in the announcement. He noted that they built some of their most meaningful work there. It is rare to see a studio acquisition where the cultural fit seems this seamless. These guys aren’t just joining a new corporate overlord. They are walking back into a building where they already know where the bathrooms are.
For Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, this is a chance to integrate a team that already speaks their language. He mentioned that March of Giants helps Ubisoft compete in “one of gaming’s biggest arenas,” which is corporate speak for “we really want a piece of that sweet MOBA pie.”
Can March of Giants Crack the MOBA Code?
Let’s be real for a second. The MOBA graveyard is filled with the corpses of games that tried to take on the titans of the genre. Remember Paragon? Exactly. But March of Giants is trying to do something a little different to stand out in the crowded MOBA market.
The game is a 4v4 tactical multiplayer online battle arena experience, but it ditches the high-fantasy wizardry for a gritty, early 1900s aesthetic. You aren’t just controlling a hero. You are controlling a literal giant. The scale is massive, with players commanding huge combatants on a ravaged urban battlefield while pint-sized minions scurry around below.
The gameplay loop involves more than just lane pushing. It incorporates elements of real-time strategy that we don’t always see in a standard MOBA. Players can deploy “Battleworks,” which are deployable structures like trenches, tanks, turrets, and bunkers. It sounds like a mix of traditional lane control and tower defense, which could be the secret sauce needed to keep players engaged.
The game is still in development, having run closed alpha tests throughout the year. The team is currently prepping a “large-scale update” that will introduce new giants and foundational systems.
Amazon Games Continues to Downsize
On the other side of the fence, this sale marks another chapter in Amazon’s struggle to find its footing as a first-party developer. Despite having infinite money, Amazon has had a rough go of it.
Just this past October, Amazon ended active development on New World, their MMO that had a massive launch before fizzling out. That decision came hot on the heels of reports that Amazon was laying off 14,000 employees across its corporate structure, with the games division taking a significant hit.
According to internal memos, Amazon is shifting its strategy. They are moving away from developing risky first-party AAA titles and focusing more on publishing (like they did with Lost Ark) and smaller projects. Selling off March of Giants seems to confirm that they are clearing the deck of expensive, long-term development projects that haven’t launched yet.
However, the breakup isn’t total. As part of the acquisition agreement, Amazon will still provide marketing support for the MOBA on Twitch. It makes sense, considering Amazon owns the streaming platform, and a new MOBA lives or dies by its viewership numbers.
What This Means for Players
If you were excited about March of Giants, this is probably good news. The game is now in the hands of a publisher that desperately needs a win in the free-to-play space and has the infrastructure to support it. Plus, the original creators are staying on board, which is vital for maintaining the game’s vision.
Ubisoft has had its own share of struggles recently, but if there is one thing they know how to do, it is support a game for years after launch (just look at For Honor and Siege). With the Siege creative director at the helm of a new MOBA, we might finally get a competitive game that feels fresh rather than just another clone.
We don’t have a release date yet, but you can expect more updates as the team settles back into their old offices.
