Ubisoft Q1 net bookings drop on lack of new games releases

FRENCH video game producer Ubisoft, maker of the blockbuster Assassin’s Creed franchise, on Thursday (Jul 20) posted a 8.7 per cent decline in net bookings in its first quarter, blaming a lack of new games releases.

“It is explained quite simply by the fact that we did not launch a game this trimester,” finance chief Frederick Duguet told journalists in a call, adding that Ubisoft had been focused on new versions of older games. Net bookings in the April-June period fell to 267.7 million euros (S$395.38 million), said Ubisoft, which had guided for 240 million. Sales decreased 9.2 per cent to 288.9 million euros.

The family-run firm, which has been dogged by game cancellations and delays in recent years, confirmed its targets for the 2023/24 finance year and said it expects second-quarter net bookings to increase to 350 million euros.

The group said it doesn’t expect any delays in games releases scheduled for the current financial year, including premium games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora and Skull and Bones.

Asked on the development of its artificial intelligence (AI) tool, Duguet said the company was well positioned and that it had accumulated proprietary data on its big games “for a long time”.

In March, the group announced Ghostwriter, an in-house AI tool designed to write first drafts of non-playable character dialogue, and its aim to implement it into future games. REUTERS