Ubisoft announced today that it is revising its financial targets and profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March 2025. According to the company, it expects net bookings of €1.95 billion, or around $2.17 billion, for the fiscal year. It also says it’s expecting net bookings of €350-370m million ($390-412 million) for the second quarter of the year, after previously targeting €500 million ($557 million). The reason it gives is the lukewarm launch of Star Wars: Outlaws, and it plans to delay its next major launch, Assassin’s Creed Shadows to 2025.
Ubisoft calls Star Wars Outlaws sales “softer than expected… despite solid ratings (Metacritic 76) and user scores across the First Party and Epic stores (3.9/5).” Following this, it is rolling out several updates to the game in response to player feedback so Outlaws will “engage a large audience during the holiday season.” The game also launches on Steam on November 21.
The first and most obvious consequence of this financial shift is the delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which has been pushed from November 15 this year to February 14, 2025. The company said that the game is complete, but that it plans to use feedback from fans to “further polish” the title. Ubisoft also announced that it’s canceling its participating in Tokyo Game Show. It has also reportedly canceled recent press previews for the game.
Ubisoft also shifted its financial model — it will not offer a Season Pass for Shadows and is no longer offering early access to the title for those who pre-order. Instead, everyone gets the game at the same time and pre-orders get free access to the first expansion (current pre-orders will be refunded). Ubisoft is also launching Shadows on Steam, with all future games launching on Steam on day one.
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Ubisoft’s ongoing financial concerns
This is the latest development in an ongoing story about Ubisoft’s financial difficulties in 2024. Despite reporting strong growth earlier this year, the studio’s stock has performed poorly in recent months in part due to Outlaws’ aforementioned tepid launch. After one of its minority shareholders, Juraj Krupa of AJ Investments and Partners, encouraged the company to go private in an open letter, stock prices dropped by 7%.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement, “Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this swiftly and firmly, with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands. Although the tangible benefits of the company’s transformation are taking longer than anticipated to materialize, we keep on our strategy, focusing on two key verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences – with the objective to drive growth, recurrence and robust free cash flow generation in our business.”
Guillemot added, “In the light of recent challenges, we acknowledge the need for greater efficiency while delighting players. As a result, beyond the first important short-term actions undertaken, the Executive Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model to the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders.”
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