A recently struck deal between between Ubisoft and Mega Bloks to produce an Assassin's Creed line of construction block kits wasn't intended to be an extra source of revenue, but rather a clever way to bring the franchise to another audience.
"On a big IP, like Assassin's Creed or that type of game, I think now the idea is to reach a maximum of people, so it's not about needing advertisement to get additional revenue," explained Ubisoft international brand manager Yannick Spagna. "Plus I'm not sure this is the right business model to do that. When you think about it, would you like to have, while playing Assassin's Creed, shaving cream advertising every five minutes when you spent $70 to buy the game? I'm not sure this is what you want. For big IPs, smart brands are the best partners. They do a line with Mega Bloks together. On their side, it's nice because toys are looking for the hype around video games. And we are looking for a new audience: kids, children, it's more like that."
The Assassin's Creed blocks are designed for kids 10 to 14 years old, but Ubisoft isn't trying to lure them into playing its Mature-rated games series. "It's about Assassin's Creed the brand," explained Spanga. "It's the same way you have The Lord of the Rings brand, the books, Shadow of Mordor, the Lego. It's a huge franchise, a brand, and within that you have different experiences that are tailored to specific audiences."