Ubisoft earnings call for the past year took place today. During the report they predict how well they think they’ll fare in the next year, and this means estimating the performance of upcoming titles. The publisher confirmed that the titles releasing over the next year will include Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Quarantine, Riders Republic, The Division Heartland, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Roller Champions. This comes alongside confirmation that Skull and Bones was delayed for the fourth year in a row.
In Ubisoft’s conference call, as reported by Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad, the publisher will be focusing on a “deeper and more diverse” lineup of games to be released between April 2021 and March 2022. This will include premium titles and free to play titles across console, PC and mobile. Ubisoft Chief Financial Officer Frédérick Duguet said:
Our FY22 line–up will be the most diversified we have ever had, with ambitious post–launch plans as well as premium and F2P new releases. Our financial targets reflect these growth initiatives, which are intended to generate significant value over the long term.
The most notable releases of the upcoming financial year are Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Quarantine, Riders Republic, The Division Heartland, and Roller Champions. While not mentioned in their financial report, Ubisoft later confirmed in their conference call that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will also release during the year. Of course, this list doesn’t include any unannounced titles and the publisher had already promised there would be a “few other surprises” too. One game that won’t be releasing this year is Skull and Bones, which has been delayed again into the next financial year ending in April 2023.
Ubisoft has had a very successful financial year with their total net bookings reaching €2.24 billion, an increase of 46.1% from last year. Of that total, digital games generated €1.6 billion, a huge 72% of that total and an increase of 26.7% from last year. PlayStation remains Ubisoft’s most popular platform, with 33% of its revenue coming from PS4 and PS5. The next closest platform is PC at 23%.
Full game downloads accounted for €829 million, leaving €780 million for extra game content like microtransactions and DLC. The top franchises that keep players investing in their games are Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed, The Division, and For Honor. In fact, the Assassin’s Creed franchise had a record performance this year with an increase of 50% in yearly revenue. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the fastest selling game in the franchise. Immortals Fenyx Rising has had “solid on–going sales–through trends” and has become a new player–favorite IP.
The biggest surprise was €1.29 billion of their yearly revenue was from back catalog games. Just Dance has had “spectacular” growth this year, while Brawlhalla, Far Cry, For Honor, Rabbids, The Crew, and Watch Dogs all had “robust” growth. Far Cry 5 has now outsold its predecessor by nearly 50% and remains one of the best selling last-gen games for the publisher.
Finally, Coronavirus definitely made an impact by helping the publisher record an all time high level of player activity with 141 million unique players on consoles and PC this year. This is an increase of 20% from last year. The Division recently hit 40 million unique players, but it’s Rainbow Six Siege that leads the way. The game was one of the top ten most played PC/console games in the fiscal year, beating many free-to-play titles. It also recorded an all time high viewership for esports regional leagues and has double-digit player acquisition growth.
