Editing Ubisoft (section)

=== Worldwide growth (1996–2003) ===
In 1996, Ubi Soft listed its [[initial public offering]] and raised over {{USD|80&nbsp;million}} in funds to help them to expand the company.<ref name="gi oral" /> Within 2 years, the company established worldwide studios in [[Annecy]] (1996), [[Shanghai]] (1996), [[Montreal]] (1997), and [[Milan]] (1998).

A difficulty that the brothers found was the lack of an intellectual property that would have a foothold in the United States market.<ref name="gi oral" /> When "widespread growth" of the Internet arrived around 1999, the brothers decided to take advantage of this by founding game studios aimed at online [[free-to-play]] titles, including [[GameLoft]]; this allowed them to license the rights to Ubi Soft properties to these companies, increasing the share value of Ubi Soft five-fold. With the extra infusion of {{€|170&nbsp;million}}, they were able to then purchase [[Red Storm Entertainment]] in 2000, giving them access to the ''[[Tom Clancy's]]'' series of stealth and spy games.<ref name="gi oral" /> Ubi Soft helped with Red Storm to continue to expand the series, bringing titles like ''[[Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon]]'' and ''[[Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six]]'' series.<ref name="gi oral" /> The company got a foothold in the United States when it worked with [[Microsoft]] to develop ''[[Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell]]'', an [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]-exclusive title released in 2002 to challenge the PlayStation-exclusive ''Metal Gear Solid'' series, by combining elements of ''Tom Clancy's'' series with elements of an in-house developed game called ''The Drift''.<ref name="gi oral" />

In March 2001, Gores Technology Group sold [[The Learning Company]]'s entertainment division (which included games originally published by [[Broderbund]], [[Mattel Interactive]], [[Mindscape (company)|Mindscape]] and [[Strategic Simulations]]) to them. The sale included the rights to [[Intellectual property|intellectual properties]] such as the ''[[Myst]]'' and ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamezone.com/news/ubi_soft_acquires_the_learning_company_s_entertainment_division |title=Ubi Soft Acquires The Learning Company's Entertainment Division |last=Vogel |first=Cassie |date=1 March 2007 |website=GameZone |publisher=GameZone Next |access-date=21 April 2016 |archive-date=27 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427230253/http://www.gamezone.com/news/ubi_soft_acquires_the_learning_company_s_entertainment_division |url-status=live}}</ref> Ubisoft Montreal developed the ''Prince of Persia'' title into ''[[Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]]'' released in 2003.<ref name="gi oral" /> At the same time, Ubi Soft released ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good & Evil]]'', Ancel's project after ''Rayman''; it was one of Ubi Soft's first commercial "flops" on its release but which since has gained a [[Cult following#Video games|cult following]].<ref name="gi oral" />

Around 2001, Ubi Soft established its editorial department headed by Hascoët, initially named as editor in chief and later known as the company's Chief Content Officer. Hascoët had worked alongside Ancel on ''Rayman'' in 1995 to help refine the game, and saw the opportunity to apply that across all of Ubi Soft's games.<ref>{{cite conference |title=La transmission de connaissances comme support d'une capacité durable en matière de créativité : Le cas de la formation au game design chez Ubisoft |first1=David |last1=Masse |first2=Thomas |last2=Paris |book-title=De l'injonction à la créativité à sa mise en œuvre : quel parallèle entre monde de l'art et monde productif ? |conference=Maison des Sciences de l'Homme |editor1-first=Anne-France |editor1-last=Kogan |editor2-first=Yanita |editor2-last=Andonova |location=[[Nantes]], France |date=9 April 2015 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2004/12/11/serge-hascoet-ubisoft-on-fait-du-divertissement-et-on-essaye-d-apporter-du-plaisir_390614_3234.html |title=Serge Hascoët (Ubisoft) : "On fait du divertissement et on essaye d'apporter du plaisir" |first=Nicolas |last=Gurgand |date=11 December 2014 |access-date=21 July 2020 |website=[[Le Monde]] |language=fr |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124120932/https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2004/12/11/serge-hascoet-ubisoft-on-fait-du-divertissement-et-on-essaye-d-apporter-du-plaisir_390614_3234.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Until 2019, most games published by Ubisoft were reviewed through the editorial department overseen by Hascoët.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/10/01/ubisofts-creative-head-talks-the-future-of-assassins-creed-and-splinter-cell |title=Ubisoft's Creative Head Talks The Future Of Assassin's Creed And Splinter Cell |first=Matt |last=Bertz |date=1 October 2010 |access-date=21 July 2020 |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806070643/https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/10/01/ubisofts-creative-head-talks-the-future-of-assassins-creed-and-splinter-cell |url-status=live}}</ref>