Ubisoft has been investing more and more into its own proprietary game engines, and, as a consequence, less and less in external providers like Epic and its popular Unreal Engine. Speaking to IGN at Gamesom 2017, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explained the reason behind the shift, citing control as a key factor.

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When asked why we're seeing an increasing number of games at Ubisoft built using the Snowdrop engine, which not only powers The Division, but also Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Massive Entertainment's upcoming Avatar game , Guillemot said, "There are many reasons. The first one is to control your destiny."Years ago, Ubisoft developed a number of its games in Unreal, including a several entries in the Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell franchises. However, the latest entry in the Ghost Recon franchise, Wildlands, was built in Anvil, a proprietary engine created by Ubisoft Montreal. So, why the change?Guillemot highlighted the downsides of using an external partner, noting there came a time when Ubisoft was using Unreal that the royalty fee was doubled during the end of their negotiations. "So we had to stop, and then we realized that it was better to know what you have, and actually decide how much innovation you want to put in the technology," he said.The Ubisoft CEO also cited the issue with Unreal during the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation, during which many developers who were using the Unreal Engine had trouble bringing their games to Sony's console.Next month brings with it the release of Assassin's Creed: Origins, a game built in Anvil—an engine that first began as Scimitar when it was created in 2007 to power the original Assassin's Creed. For our thoughts on the next installment in Ubisoft's history-hopping franchise, check out IGN's hands-on impressions of Origins running on Xbox One X.The unpredictability when working with external partners can also prove problematic when companies are purchased by rival publishers. As an example, Guillemot noted how Irish software development company Demonware was working with Ubisoft on the multiplayer for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent, but that partnership came to an end when Activision purchased Demonware in 2007."So we like to work with outside providers, but we want to be careful not to be too dependent on some," Guillemot explained, noting that purchases of software providers by certain large companies like Microsoft are less problematic for Ubisoft than if they were purchased by competing publishers like Activision or Electronic Arts.Just last month, Ubisoft released Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the latest title to use its Snowdrop engine. Check out IGN's review to find out why the Switch-exclusive tactics game "has some great ideas that distinguish it from its inspiration."

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn