Ubisoft released their financials for the previous fiscal year today, with sales up 18.4% year-over-year to €1.256 billion, with €928 million coming from “games for core gamers,” an increase of 60% over the previous year.
As for those core games, Assassin’s Creed III enjoyed over 12.5 million sold through retail and digitally, with Far Cry 3 having 6 million sold via retail and digital. In the casual games sector, which earned €328 million, Just Dance 4 managed to move 8.5 million units at retail, and saw a revenue decline of “just 14% in value terms.”
Yves Guillemot, CEO at Ubisoft, talked about the financial results by saying, “The success of Far Cry 3 confirmed our strong comeback in the major segment of shooter games.” He then continued with: “We began fiscal year 2012-13 with two major franchises: Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance. Twelve months later, we have substantially extended our reach by establishing Far Cry as another major franchise, building upon the great potential for our newest brand, Watch Dogs, and making our online/digital segment an increasingly significant part of our business. The steady rise in our operating and financial performance during the last three years is the direct result of the long-term investments we have made, with the continued development of our creative capacity and the bolstering of our expertise in online activities.”
Looking ahead to this fiscal year, Yves notes that Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance have become the 5th and 12th “best-selling brands for the current generation of consoles,” respectively. And when it comes to the major releases this year, they have 5 – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs, an unannounced title (another Assassin’s Creed Vita, maybe?), and an unannounced title that is a “new creation”, presumably meaning a new IP.
What do you think of the continued sales of the yearly entries into the Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance franchises? Any guesses on those two unannounced titles? Let us know in the comments below.
