'Assassin's Creed' no saviour for struggling Ubisoft
PARIS - A bumper release for the latest "Assassin's Creed" instalment did not save French video games giant Ubisoft from falling back into the red in its 2024-25 financial year.
The company had won through to profitability in 2023-24 after a near half-billion-euro loss in the previous period.
But a string of disappointing releases undermined this year's performance, with a net loss of 159 million euros ($178-million) on revenues of 1.9 billion -- down 17.5 percent year-on-year.
Over the past 12 months, Ubisoft's would-be blockbuster "Star Wars Outlaws" fell short of sales expectations on release, while it cancelled multiplayer first-person shooter "XDefiant" for lack of players.
"This year has been a challenging one for Ubisoft, with mixed dynamics across our portfolio, amid intense industry competition," chief executive Yves Guillemot said in a statement.
Ubisoft's preferred performance indicator, so-called "net bookings" -- which excludes some deferred revenues -- also fell by more than 20 percent year-on-year, to 1.8 billion euros.
The group expects the measure to hold steady in the coming 2025-26 financial year, during which it will release a new "Prince of Persia" game, strategy title "Anno 117: Pax Romana" and mobile versions of shooters "Rainbow Six" and "The Division".
Disappointing shipments have been matched by a tumbling stock price.
But in recent weeks the publisher's biggest money-spinner has been as dependable as ever, with "Assassin's Creed Shadows" winning over more than three million players with its story of medieval Japanese intrigue since its March 20 release.
"Shadows" swiftly rose to become the second-best-selling game of the year so far in the United States, according to data from consultancy Circana.
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