Ubisoft just debunked all the negative speculation with positive news about the first half of their financial year.
Why Everyone Was Worried
All the speculation started last Thursday. Without explanation, the company announced they would delay their half-year earnings results. Subsequently, they requested the Euronext stock market to suspend trading of their shares and bonds.
This led to speculation that there might be trouble brewing with Ubisoft’s finances, and this speculation was not baseless. The video game industry in general is experiencing a dearth that’s led to a wave of layoffs and studio closures.
Ubisoft in particular had been facing too many consecutive sales failures and disappointments given their size and the scale of their titles. As we know, Ubisoft settled on a deal with TenCent to build a new subsidiary for their biggest AAA franchises.
It made sense for Ubisoft to need time to make the necessary arrangements for their business to reorganize. But there was some fear that it was taking too long while the company was not making enough money.
Ubisoft did say that Assassin’s Creed Shadows was a success at launch, but that was not enough to quell those fears.
As It Turns Out, Ubisoft Beat Their Sales Expectations
To quote Ubisoft’s report directly:
Q2 Net Bookings exceeded expectations, reaching €490.8m, versus guidance of around €450m, and up 39% year-on-year. The outperformance was driven by stronger-than-expected partnerships, and was supported by a robust back-catalog, both highlighting the strength of the Group’s brands.
CEO Yves Guillemot also cited Rainbow Six Siege, the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and The Division 2 as games that helped Ubisoft reach this goal in this past six months.
Vantage Studios Will Be Revealed In January
Yves also made this announcement regarding Vantage Studios, their project with TenCent:
Vantage Studios represents a key element of the transformation of the company towards a new operating model built around Creative Houses. We will have finalized the design of this new organization by the end of the year.
These Creative Houses will be autonomous, efficient, focused and accountable business units, each with its own leadership, creative vision and strategic roadmap.
This Group-wide transformation reflects our ambition to renew how we create and operate in order to deliver great games for our players and lasting value for our partners and shareholders.
The full details of this new operating model will be unveiled in January.
Why Did Ubisoft Delay Their Financial Report?
As explained by Dr. Serkan Toto, Ubisoft made an accounting error that was caught by auditors. Without getting bogged down by details, Ubisoft had to rewrite their report to correct their mistakes.
As it turned out, this had nothing to do with Ubisoft’s financial standing. And no, there was no sign of fraud or suspicious activity either.
This makes for a surprisingly positive piece of news for the publisher, as it enters a new phase in its business. Following Activision Blizzard being purchased by Microsoft, and EA’s pending buyout, Ubisoft’s venture with TenCent will change the direction of the industry’s biggest publishers.
