Ubisoft's recovery from weak half-year to involve 'addressing polarized comments' about company

Ubisoft's earnings for the first half of 2024-2025 fell short of expectations, but CEO Yves Guillemot said the studio can come back from this with a "player-centric and gameplay-first approach."

For the six-month period ending on September 30, 2024, net bookings came to €642.3 million (or $697.8 million), down 21.9 percent from 2023-2024's first half. Of that, €352.3 million came from the second quarter, decreasing 36.5 percent from the second quarter of last year. Despite this, the quarterly earnings were said to be in line with Ubisoft's revised guidance.

According to Guillemot, Ubisoft is looking at "tackling the dynamics" behind recent "polarized comments," in an effort to "protect [our] reputation and maximize our games' sales potential." Earlier this year, Guillemot denounced the racist backlash around Assassin's Creed Shadows, then seemed to backtrack in September, saying Ubisoft has no aim "to push any specific agenda."

The "player-centric mindset" will continue with Star Wars Outlaws, which Ubisoft previously stated underperformed commercially. Along with fixes and post-launch DLC, the game is releasing on Steam in November, which the company hopes "engages a large audience during the holiday season and positions the game as a strong long-term performer."

Related:Star Wars Outlaws shows the limits of 'familiar, but with a twist'

Meanwhile, prior back catalog releases (excluding partnerships) grew by 12 percent from last year. Older live-service games like The Crew series and Riders Republic were commended for their growth during the second quarter: the former saw "strong growth" and attracted over 8 million players, while the sports sim topped 10 million players after its release on Xbox Game Pass.

Rainbow Six Siege and the Assassin's Creed games, frequent repeat drivers for Ubisoft's back catalog, were also said to have had over 30 million active users each within the past 12 months. In total, Ubisoft attracted 138 million unique players across PC and consoles in this timeframe, up 4 percent from 2023-2024.

Guillemot further affirmed Ubisoft's primary focus is on Assassin's Creed Shadows and ensuring it is "a highly polished, exceptional experience on day one and that it resonates strongly with players." As for previous reports of a potential buyout with Tencent, he repeated the company "is reviewing all its strategic options."