Ubisoft has been struggling to recover from a pandemic-era production crunch that resulted in delays in new games and cancelled titles. — Bloomberg
PARIS: Ubisoft Entertainment SA’s net bookings missed analysts’ estimates as production delays and weaker-than-expected sales weigh on the French video game company’s turnaround plan.
Net bookings were 352.3mil or about US$382mil in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, down 36% compared with the same period last year, Ubisoft said in a statement on Wednesday.
This compares to the 368mil average estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and falls at the lower end of the company’s recently cut guidance.
The company said it expected net bookings for this quarter, which includes the holiday season, of approximately 380mil, down from the 626mil it reported in the same quarter last year.
Ubisoft has been struggling to recover from a pandemic-era production crunch that resulted in delays in new games and cancelled titles.
In September, shares fell to their lowest in more than a decade after the company cut its outlook and delayed its hotly anticipated game Assassin’s Creed Shadows from November to February, skipping the lucrative holiday period.
The company said it needed more time to improve the game after its recent Star Wars release had underperformed.
Ubisoft chief executive officer Yves Guillemot highlighted in a statement efforts being made to transform the company to its former glory through a “player-centric” approach, which involves improving the quality of games including Star Wars Outlaws based on customer feedback.
It reiterated its full-year net bookings guidance of 1.95bil.
Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and Chinese tech company Tencent Holdings Ltd have been considering options including a potential buyout of the French video game developer, Bloomberg previously reported, citing people familiar with the matter. — Bloomberg
