What's killing new games? Ubisoft has a simple answer: „Players are playing less, but longer”

The British publishing branch of Ubisoft has submitted a report for the fiscal year ending in March 2025. The report mentioned a drop in revenue this financial year and pointed out a few reasons why that's happening.

Subscriptions and F2P games are to blame

According to Ubisoft, the traditional model of selling games for $50-60 is becoming increasingly unpopular. Instead, subscriptions like Game Pass and constantly updated live service games, especially those using a free-to-play model, are becoming more important.

The report says that players are mostly sticking to a few top games, ignoring all the other new ones that come out in the usual way. As a result, consumers are playing fewer games but spending more time on them.

All this led to a prediction that Ubisoft will end the fiscal year 2026 with a drop in revenue.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is the latest game released by Ubisoft. Ubisoft

If you have been following reports about the French company, this information might not be a big surprise to you. Ubisoft's finances haven't been great for a while, which eventually led to them setting up a subsidiary where Tencent owns a big chunk. In the meantime, there have been layoffs, and yesterday, a rumor about the company's acquisition also surfaced. A few days ago, an important report was delayed, and stock trading was halted.

Ubisoft's statements align with information provided by analysts. Mat Piscatella recently mentioned that most players only buy one or two new games a year, while more and more people are switching to free-to-play games. Moreover, according to data, young players prefer mobile gaming over traditional gameplay on consoles or PCs.

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• Ubisoft
• free-to-play
• financial results
• subscriptions