After the Executive Committee initiated comprehensive strategic and operational analyses several months ago, Ubisoft is now taking decisive steps to fundamentally realign the company. The priority is to ensure first-class gaming experiences, coupled with increasing operational efficiency and maximizing value potential. At least that’s how Ubisoft sees it. In order to implement this new direction, Ubisoft announced last night that it has appointed renowned consultants to investigate and implement various strategic and capital-related options. This process will be overseen by the independent members of the Board of Directors. Should a transaction result, Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations.
At an operational level, the company continues to aim for significant cost reductions and is pursuing a highly focused approach to investments. Under these conditions, it is now expected to achieve an annual reduction in fixed costs of more than 200 million euros for the 2025-26 financial year compared to the 2022-23 financial year. In December, XDefiant was discontinued and three production studios in cost-intensive regions were closed.
In parallel, as part of the increased focus on high quality and engaging Day 1 experiences, it was decided to grant Assassin’s Creed Shadows an additional month of development. This time will allow the player feedback gained over the past three months to be incorporated into development in a more targeted way to ensure the best possible launch and strengthen the already growing support of the Assassin’s Creed community. The release is now scheduled for March 20.
Net bookings for the third quarter of the 2024-25 financial year are currently estimated at around 300 million euros, which is lower than originally expected. The main reasons for this are weaker sales over the Christmas period, particularly for Star Wars Outlaws, and the discontinuation of XDefiant. For the financial year 2024-25, Ubisoft continues to expect a largely balanced non-IFRS operating result and a balanced free cash flow. Net bookings are now expected to amount to approximately €1.9 billion and include new partnership opportunities for Ubisoft’s games and brands as well as the monetization of streaming rights acquired in the previous financial year.
Yves Guillemot, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, said:
We made good progress on the strategic and execution reviews initiated a few months ago and are confident that this will position Ubisoft for a stronger future. We have taken decisive steps to reshape the Group in order to deliver best-in-class player experiences, enhance operational efficiency and maximize value creation. We also recently appointed leading advisors and are actively exploring various strategic and capitalistic options to unlock the full value potential of our assets. We are convinced that there are several potential paths to generate value from Ubisoft’s assets and franchises.
Additionally, we are all behind our teams’ efforts to create the most ambitious Assassin’s Creed opus of the franchise and made the decision to provide an extra month of development to Shadows in order to better incorporate the player feedback gathered over the past three months that will enable us to fully deliver on the potential of the game and finish the year on a strong note.”
Source: Ubisoft
