Ubisoft Plans Fewer Games; Has One More Surprise for This Year
According to Ubisoft's latest financial report, the company is not doing as badly as it may have looked. What's more, the French reportedly have an ace up their sleeve in the form of a hitherto unannounced AAA game. Its release is expected within the year.
In the last several months Ubisoft canceled Splinter Cell VR, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Frontline and five unannounced games (six, if Project Q wasn't one of them). The company began tightening its belt, while warning investors that financial results would be far from expected.
The latest report by the French company, which summarized the period from April to December 2022, however, shows that things are not so bad. Indeed, the company recorded:
- total revenue of 1.5 billion euros - a 6.1% improvement over the same period in 2021;
- the last three months (October to December) brought in €772.5 million (up 16% year-on-year);
- only sales of games, DLC, subscriptions, virtual items, etc. declined - they were 2.6% lower than in the comparable period of 2021 (726.9 million to 746.1 million).
What's more, Ubisoft probably has some ace up its sleeve. At a meeting with investors an information was mentioned about a hitherto unannounced AAA game to be released before the end of March 2024. If so, it is possible that it will be announced at this year's E3 show, where Ubisoft plans to make an appearance - if indeed the event will take place.
Thus, in the coming year the French will release at least seven major titles. Assuming no delays, these will be:
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage;
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora;
- Skull and Bones (seventh time makes the charm?);
- The Crew Motorfest;
- Tom Clancy's The Division: Resurgence;
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Mobile.
In addition, also in development are Far Cry 7 (probably), remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and several installments of the Assassin's Creed series, which recorded a 30 percent increase in the number of players from April to December 2022, thus setting a new record. The number of players increased by a similar percentage for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege. The focus on big brands and fewer games released throughout the year is expected to be Ubisoft's way of improving ratings..
