France's Ubisoft full-year net bookings fall 20.5%
May 14 (Reuters) - France's largest video game maker Ubisoft (UBIP.PA), opens new tab on Wednesday posted a 20.5% fall in full-year net bookings to 1.85 billion euros ($2.07 billion) due to delayed releases and the underperformance of some of its leading titles.
For fiscal 2025-26, the maker of the blockbuster franchise "Assassin's Creed" projected stable net bookings year-on-year. Net bookings for the first quarter are forecast at 310 million euros.
Ubisoft said fiscal 2025-26 results will benefit from its strong back catalog, especially "Assassin's Creed Shadows", and the release of "Siege X" which is expected to strongly grow franchise net bookings.
It also cited the projects "Anno 117: Pax Romana", "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake", "Rainbow Six Mobile" and "The Division Resurgence".
"After a review of our pipeline, we have decided to provide additional development time to some of our biggest productions to create the best conditions for success," CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement.
As a result, he said, Ubisoft's largest brands should release "significant content" over the next two years.
In March, the company faced a make-or-break moment with the launch of "Assassin's Creed Shadows" as it grappled with falling revenue, a sinking stock price and takeover speculation.
Ubisoft said the game delivered the second-highest Day 1 sales revenue in franchise history and set a new record for Ubisoft's Day 1 performance on the PlayStation digital store.
At the end of March the company set up a subsidiary for its "Assassin's Creed", "Far Cry", and "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" franchises. China's Tencent (0700.HK), opens new tab will invest 1.16 billion euros for a 25% stake in the new subsidiary, valued at about 4 billion euros.
After the Tencent transaction closes, the group expects to maintain a consolidated net debt position of around zero.
Ubisoft said it plans to announce a new group organisation by the end of the year to better serve gamers' needs, improve game quality and drive disciplined capital allocation.
($1 = 0.8923 euros)
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