It’s a fact that multiple video game companies and publishers aren’t “doing their best right now.” It’s just a fact. Even when you look at the “higher-ups” on the food chain like Microsoft and Sony, they’re both going through serious changes right now to try and “spark sales” and “bring the community back to them,” even if it’s not directly to their own consoles. However, even their issues pale in comparison to what’s going on with Ubisoft over the last few years. 2024 was arguably the lowest point the company had in many years, with things getting so bad that the company’s leadership has been called into question many times, and there are even rumors of a full-on buyout.
This is punctuated by the latest financial briefing the company had, where its yearly revenue was down 34% over the last year! Plus, in terms of bookings, it was down 34 as well! Now, obviously, the company did try to spin this, with Ubisoft Yves Guillemot saying that the next quarter, the one we’re in now, will be fine due to pre-orders of the company’s next big title. However, that’s not all he said. The CEO also noted, as stated by GameIndustry.Biz, that the company will attempt to “unlock the best value” of what they have going forward:
“Ultimately, the objective is to unlock the best value from our assets for our stakeholders and to foster the best conditions to create great games in a fast-evolving market. We are convinced there are different potential paths to achieve this ambition.”
They have already revealed this “path,” though, as Ubisoft has said that it wishes to focus on “open-world titles and live-service games” to get them out of the hole they’re in. Except that’s what got them in this hole in the first place!
After all, 2024 was mired by the company’s attempts to “cash in on certain things,” only for them to backfire in various ways. You might recall a certain live-service pirate title that had been in development for many years, only for it to flop so hard it was laughable. There was also a live-service mobile game that they shuttered due to various layoffs and issues they were doing with.
Finally, there was the open-world game set in a “galaxy far, far away” that was supposed to be “its next big thing,” only for it to be a reskin of things we had seen before from the publisher. If things don’t change, a bad financial briefing will be the least of their worries.
