French video game publisher Ubisoft, "
disappointed
" by its recent performance despite the release of major games, revises its financial objectives for the whole of the 2022-2023 financial year with sales down "
by more than 10%
" compared to the previous year, he announced on Thursday.
For the staggered 2022-2023 financial year, the French group had initially communicated a growth target of "
greater than 10%
" in "
net bookings
" ("
net reservations
", i.e. sales excluding deferred revenue), its benchmark indicator.
But due to the context of "
deteriorating macroeconomic conditions
", observed in particular during the holiday season despite the release of major games at the end of the year, Ubisoft has decided "
a complete revision of (its) revenue outlook leading to a cautious increased for years to come
,” he said in a statement.
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Its “
net bookings
” objective for the third quarter of the 2022-23 financial year is now expected “
at around 725 million euros
” against a previous objective “
of around 830 million euros
”.
“
We are clearly disappointed with our recent performance
,” said Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft, quoted in the press release.
“
Despite excellent ratings and player reception as well as an ambitious marketing plan, we were surprised by the underperformance of Mario and Rabbids: Sparks of Hope in the final weeks of 2022 and early January.
Just Dance 2023 also underperformed
,” he added.
As a result, Ubisoft announced a set of "
measures
" aimed at reducing its costs and "
strengthening its growth prospects
", with a strategy clearly centered on its flagship games and the "
building of brands
" worldwide, like its Assassin's Creed franchise.
Thus, Ubisoft indicated that it had stopped the development of three "
unannounced
" projects, in addition to the four already announced in July 2022. In parallel with these seven canceled games, the title "
Skull and Bones
", initially planned for the beginning of November 2022 before be postponed to March 2023, will now be released in "
2023-2024
".
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This postponement comes as the highly anticipated game "
Avatar
", initially scheduled for the end of 2022 to accompany the theatrical release of the second opus of the American blockbuster, had also been rescheduled for "
2023-2024
".
“
We expect our strategy (…) to end up generating significant value creation
,” said Ubisoft CFO Frédérick Duguet.