Ubisoft has reported an 8.7% year-on-year drop in net bookings to €267.7 million for Q1 2023-24, the financial quarter ending 30 June 2023. Despite this, the company claims it exceeded its own expectations, as results were higher than originally forecasted.
With many of Ubisoft’s upcoming games slated to release in the later half of the 2023-24 financial period – Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, The Crew Motorfest, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – financial estimates had been readjusted to account for a brief window with few game releases.
‘This quarter, we delivered a better-than-expected performance and we continued to progress on our two-pillar strategy of reaching a significantly larger audience and growing our recurring revenues,’ Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft said in a press release.
‘We showcased our promising big-brand games and live experiences during the highly regarded Ubisoft Forward event, positioning us favourably for the upcoming months and years … As we look to the future, we are confident that our sharp focus on our biggest opportunities coupled with significant cost reductions will result in meaningful progression of revenue, earnings and cash-flow generation over the coming years.’
Read: Ubisoft Forward 2023 – All the trailers and announcements
According to Ubisoft’s financial results, net bookings were sustained by a number of popular, existing games including Rainbow Six Siege and The Crew 2, which both maintained audiences with seasonal events and new content.
Future closed beta tests for Skull and Bones (25 August) and Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade (3-11 August) were noted for their ability to renew interest in the Ubisoft brand, and their potential to drive financial turnaround in the coming months.
In its latest report, Ubisoft also spoke to games revealed during Ubisoft Forward, enthusing about the future direction of its major franchises. The show reportedly saw a 64% rise in max concurrent live views from prior Forward presentations, with 102 million impressions generated on social media.
Over the coming months, Ubisoft will look to promote its brand on the strength of these newly-announced releases, and via new partnerships with companies like Tencent’s Level Infinite, which will aid in the publishing of Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade. Ubisoft has called this partnership one of the ‘biggest publishing deals ever signed in the industry’.
While the company’s latest financial results represent a slight dip for the company, upcoming plans will mean change in the next financial quarters.
