According to a report from VGC, Ubisoft is making some major changes to its upcoming lineup. Details are still coming, but reportedly multiple game projects have now been cancelled and Skull & Bones, previously set to release in March after an earlier delay, has been delayed yet again.
According to Ubisoft, major titles in 2022 such as Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2022 under-performed. As market shifts have occurred, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot commented about the company’s direction.
“We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance. We are facing contrasted market dynamics as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and everlasting live games, in the context of worsening economic conditions affecting consumer spending.
Despite excellent ratings and players’ reception as well as an ambitious marketing plan, we were surprised by Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope under-performance in the final weeks of 2022 and early January. Just Dance 2023 under-performed as well.
Therefore, with the approval of the Board of Directors, we are taking additional important strategic and operational decisions today. It is key to continue adapting our organization, to further strengthen our execution and to ensure we both deliver amazing games to players as well as great value creation.
The industry’s long-term prospects remain promising, and I am convinced Ubisoft is well positioned to benefit from this momentum thanks to the strength of our teams, brands, production capacity, technology and balance-sheet. Our back-catalogue remains very healthy with notably robust activity on Rainbow Six Siege, great momentum for our Assassin’s Creed games, and generally solid performance from our live games.
We expect our strategy to build long-lasting live games and transform our biggest brands into truly global phenomenon with multiple offerings across platforms and business models, to ultimately generate significant value creation, with strong topline and operating income growth over the coming years.”
Ubisoft is now targeting to release Skull & Bones, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora in their 2023-2024 fiscal year (which runs from April 1st, 2023 through March 31st, 2024). They also said they have other “yet to be announced” titles in the works including a “promising free-to-play title from some of our biggest brands” which no doubts refers to The Division Heartland.
Whether or not these titles will resonate with fans is yet to be determined. As always time will tell. Ubisoft has some of the most recognizable IPs in the industry so we’ll be paying close attention to how they manage them in the near future. More to come…
