(Bloomberg) — Ubisoft Entertainment SA, the video-game maker behind the popular Assassin’s Creed title, forecast flat sales for the new fiscal year and said some of its biggest productions will get more development time.
Bookings, a measure of sales, fell 20% to €1.85 billion ($2.07 billion) in just-ended fiscal 2025, the company said Wednesday, missing Wall Street estimates of €1.89 billion. Bookings in the fourth quarter declined 3.4%.
The forecast and additional development work are the latest setbacks for the French company, whose shares have tumbled from a high of €88.16 more than four years ago to their current €11.68. The company announced its latest results after markets closed in Paris.
Management led by Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot is taking steps to right the company. In March, it announced Tencent Holdings Ltd. would invest €1.16 billion in a new subsidiary that will be home to key titles like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.
The deal amounted to a vote of confidence from Tencent, which already holds a 10% stake in Ubisoft, in the wake of a difficult few years since a pandemic-era boom in play ran out of gas. The new unit’s €4 billion valuation is higher than the group’s current enterprise value.
“This year has been a challenging one for Ubisoft, with mixed dynamics across our portfolio, amid intense industry competition,” Guillemot said in a statement. “We are currently working on reshaping the group’s operating model and plan to announce a new organization by the end of the year.”
In a call with reporters earlier in the day, Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet indicated that operationally Ubisoft would remain “one unique company,” with employees free to work on brands owned by both the subsidiary and its parent.
The decision to extend production work means fresh revenue from Ubisoft’s biggest franchises will be pushed back into the next two fiscal years.
Ubisoft also said its €200 million cost-cutting goal for the year has been completed ahead of schedule and that it will pursue an additional €100m in savings over the next two years.
The company finished the year with 17,782 employees, down by 1,230 from a year earlier.
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