Key recommendations
- Ubisoft is launching an internal review of its internal practices.
- The investigation is meant to help her identify the reasons behind some of her recent struggles.
- Ubisoft stock is currently at a decade low, with the company just announcing that its Q2 performance fell short of expectations, as did Q3 sales of Star Wars Outlaws.
Ubisoft is launching a comprehensive review of its internal practices, the company announced. The probe is meant to help identify the reasons behind some of its recent struggles, thereby helping Ubisoft improve.
At the end of 2023, Ubisoft is still one of the 15 largest video game publishers in the world by revenue. But despite its sizable run, the company has struggled lately, with longer development cycles and project delays helping it end fiscal 2023 more than $530 million in the red. This record loss and reduced future targets have further weighed on its already falling stock, with Ubisoft's share price currently at a decade-low €11.42, down more than 83% from five years ago.
Ubisoft will investigate how to be better and more “player-centric”
These ongoing challenges have now caused the company to fall behind Assassin's Creed Shadows to 2025, which the publisher characterized as a reflection of its “player-centric approach” to doing business that prioritizes fan feedback. The move led to a reduction in financial targets for the current fiscal year, which were made public on September 25. The investor update also saw Ubisoft reveal that it has launched an investigation into its internal practices and how they relate to its current struggles. “The Executive Committee, under the oversight of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, particularly in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path to a better performing model,” the announcement said, adding. that all of this is ultimately meant to benefit shareholders.
Ubisoft performed poorly in Q2 2024
In the same statement, Ubisoft revealed that its performance in the second quarter of this year fell short of expectations, prompting it to launch an internal probe and spend a little more time to ensure that Assassin's Creed Shadows it's the best possible game from day one. The company's Q3 performance now looks unlikely to impress investors either, not least because Ubisoft confirmed today that Star Wars Outlaws failed to meet early sales expectations.
The Executive Committee, under the oversight of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, particularly in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path to a better performing model.
In the grand scheme of things, these newly announced changes won't affect the group's overall focus on open-world experiences and live-service business model, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. Ubisoft's 2023 decision to go all-in assassin's creed therefore, it also seems unlikely to be affected for now.
Things that will change include some of the finer details of how the company approaches game development, such as its recently confirmed decision to move away from the traditional season subscription business model in favor of something more flexible. To this end, all Assassin's Creed Shadows pre-orders are now being refunded, with Ubisoft stating that the game's first expansion will be offered free to anyone who buys it during the second pre-order period, which has yet to begin.
