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Key Takeaways
- Ubisoft is launching an internal review of its internal practices.
- The investigation is meant to help it identify the reasons for some of its recent struggles.
- Ubisoft’s stock is currently at a decade low, with the company just announcing its Q2 performance failed to meet expectations, much like the Q3 sales of Star Wars Outlaws.
Ubisoft is launching a comprehensive review of its internal practices, the company has announced. The probe is meant to assist in identifying the reasons for some of its recent struggles, consequently helping Ubisoft improve itself.
As of the end of 2023, Ubisoft is still one of the top 15 largest video game publishers in the world by revenue. But in spite of its sizable operation, the company has been struggling in recent times, with longer development cycles and project delays contributing to its fiscal year 2023 ending over $530 million in the red. This record loss and reduced future targets further weighed down its already plummeting equities, with Ubisoft’s stock price currently being at a decade low of €11.42, over 83% down compared to five years ago.
Ubisoft Will Investigate How To Be Better and More ‘Player-Centric’
These ongoing challenges have now prompted the company to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows until 2025, which the publisher characterized as a reflection of its strengthening “player-centric approach” to doing business that prioritizes fan feedback. The move resulted in a reduction of the financial targets for the ongoing fiscal year, which were publicized on September 25. The investor update also saw Ubisoft reveal that it has initiated an investigation of its internal practices and how they relate to its current struggles. “The Executive Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model,” the announcement reads, adding that all of this is ultimately meant to be to the shareholders’ benefit.
Ubisoft Underperformed in Q2 2024
The same statement saw Ubisoft reveal that its second-quarter performance this year had fallen short of expectations, which prompted it to launch the internal probe and spend a little while longer on making sure that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the best possible game it can be on day one. The company’s Q3 performance now seems unlikely to impress investors as well, not least because Ubisoft today also confirmed that Star Wars Outlaws did not meet its early sales expectations.
The Executive Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model.
In the grand scheme of things, these newly announced changes will not impact the group’s overall focus on open-world experiences and the live-service business model, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. Ubisoft’s 2023 decision to go all-in on Assassin’s Creed hence also seems unlikely to be affected for the time being.
The things that will change include some of the finer details of how the company approaches game development, like its newly confirmed decision to pivot away from the traditional season pass business model in favor of something a bit more flexible. To that end, all Assassin’s Creed Shadows pre-orders are now being refunded, with Ubisoft stating that the game’s first expansion will be given for free to anyone who purchases it during its second pre-order period, which has yet to begin.
