Ubisoft postpones "Skull and Bones" for the sixth (!) time and cancels three unannounced games
Ubisoft is facing major problems. In a statement to investors, the French company has announced falling sales forecasts and drastic cost-cutting measures. In addition, the pirate game "Skull & Bones" has been postponed indefinitely.
"We are clearly very disappointed with our current performance" - with these gloomy words, Yves Guillemont, CEO of Ubisoft, begins yesterday's investor call. The company doesn't actually have much good news to announce.
The estimated revenue for the current financial quarter has to be revised downwards by over 100 million euros. Ubisoft sees the main reasons for this drastic correction in the current economic situation and the poor sales figures for current Ubisoft games.
Poor sales figures and a lack of top titles
The traditional French company is particularly disappointed with "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope". The Switch-exclusive strategy game with characters from the Mario and Rabbids universes has sold massively less than its predecessor "Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle". The game was released in October last year and was showered with praise by critics. I also tested the game and was impressed by the fun strategy gameplay and unique humour.
Source: Ubisoft
But games from the casual and mobile segments have also performed far worse than Ubisoft would have liked. The annual dance game "Just Dance" is actually a sales guarantor, but was also unable to fully convince this year.
In addition, the really big Ubisoft games such as "Far Cry" and "Assasin's Creed" have taken a longer break. The last "Far Cry" was over a year ago and "Assasin's Creed: Valhalla" was released over two years ago.
Drastic cost-cutting measures
As a result of the poor quarterly performance, Ubisoft has announced drastic cost-cutting measures. With the help of "natural fluctuation" in human resources, major restructuring and the sale of "non-core assets", a total of 200 million euros is to be saved.
Savings will also be made in the development of games. Ubisoft is cancelling three previously unannounced games that were in development at various teams. This is intended to save an additional 500 million euros. Ubisoft already cancelled four high-calibre games last summer - including "Ghost Recon Frontline" and a "Splinter Cell" VR game.
"Skull and Bones" is still a long time coming
Ubisoft is optimistic despite the current gloomy situation. From now on, the company wants to focus more on its biggest brands and exploit them as efficiently as possible.
"Assasin's Creed Mirage" and "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" are the main hopes for the current year. Another unannounced AAA blockbuster is also due to be released this year. There will also soon be news about the previously announced open-world "Star Wars" game - but the game will not be released until 2024.
In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that several free-to-play games for some of its biggest franchises are in development.
I am surprised by the fact that Ubisoft also postponed the release date of the pirate game "Skull and Bones" during the investor call. The game from Ubisoft Singapore was actually due to be released on 9 March. Ubisoft has not given a specific new release date - the game is due to be released sometime between 2023 and 2024.
"Skull and Bones" has been in development since 2013. It was presented to the public for the first time at E3 2017, but since then the game has been postponed a total of six times. I'm beginning to doubt whether the game will even see the light of day.
My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.