Ubisoft interested in Tom Clancy MMO

Acquisition of the brand means the publisher can now move into MMO arena without paying out royalties.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has revealed that the publisher's acquisition of the Tom Clancy license opens up the door for a Tom Clancy massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

"We will be able to adapt the brand to new formats, in particular the MMO format, where the royalties were a big thing holding us back," Guillemot told investors in a conference call.

Its "complete editorial control" over the Tom Clancy brand also gives the publisher freedom not previously possible, allowing characters from a particular series to make an appearance in another. Guillemot called it "cross-fertilisation of characters" much like Super Smash Bros.

The CEO also said that the acquisition sees the publisher "becoming a major player" in book publishing and film production, and also noted that the company was looking into using the brand in both television and online video.