While the company is focused on reducing its operational costs, CEO Yves Guillemot reiterated that Ubisoft's main priority is preparing Assassin's Creed Shadows for its March 20 launch.
Ubisoft's financial report for the nine month period ending December 31, 2024 is out, with the French developer and publisher shining a spotlight on its upcoming Assassin's Creed title as well as the state of the ongoing cost reduction drive that's seen several studio closures and restructurings already, with more changes seemingly still on the way.
These cost reductions build on plans and processes detailed earlier into 2025 to "reshape the group" with the goal of improving Ubisoft's operational efficiency, value creation, and player experiences. According to today's press release detailing the Q3 results, those efforts are pacing "ahead of schedule" due in part to Ubisoft shuttering of its San Francisco, Osaka teams, and "targeted restructurings" across its European offshoots in Leavington, Stockholm, and Newcastle.
Those layoffs and closures, in addition to other measures taken by the company, have put the company well on its way to hitting the €200 million fixed cost base reduction goal set forth, so much CEO Yves Guillemot now says the company plans to significantly surpass its original target and further reduce costs into the 2025-2026 financial year kicking off this April.
"As a result of disciplined execution, we have announced further targeted restructurings, making difficult but necessary choices, and now expect to exceed our cost reduction objective by the end of FY25, ahead of schedule," reads a statement from Guillemot. "We plan to pursue our efforts in FY26, going beyond the initial target by a significant margin."
Financially, Ubisoft's bookings for the third quarter of the 2024-2025 financial year are in line with its previously revised expectations. Quarterly bookings were €301.8 million, down 52 percent year-over-year and just €1.8 million over that revised target. Meanwhile, bookings for the full nine-month period were €944 million, down nearly 35 percent year-over-year.
Looking forward to the final quarter of the 2024-2025 year, Ubisoft expects those last few months to bring the full year's net bookings up to around €1.9 billion. Guillemot added that the developer is "fully focused" on Assassin's Creed: Shadows ahead of its March 20 release. The action-stealth game has been delayed twice and stands as Ubisoft's next core title after 2024's launch of Star Wars Outlaws.
"I want to commend the incredible talent and dedication of the entire Assassin’s Creed’s team, who is working tirelessly to ensure that Shadows delivers on the promise of what is the franchise’s most ambitious entry yet," he said.
In January, Ubisoft told investors it would take "decisive steps" to change the company and put a focus on "delivering best-in-class player experiences, enhance operational efficiency and maximize value creation." The cost reduction programs are part of said efficiency, as is improving the quality of releases like Outlaws via post-launch updates.
Guillemot also touched on the review process of its "strategic options" discussed in January. The process, which came after reports of the Guillemot family exploring a potential buyout with Tencent, remains "ongoing."
"Ultimately, the objective is to unlock the best value from our assets for our stakeholders and to foster the best conditions to create great games in a fast-evolving market," he explained. "We are convinced there are different potential paths to achieve this ambition."
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