Amidst Ubisfot’s ongoing self-immolation, CEO Yves Guillemot has promised players that “despite recent setbacks”, the Assassin Creed Shadows developer is supposedly ‘full steam ahead’ on undertaking a creative overhaul.
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The embattled Ubisoft founder offered this update as part of their First Half FY 2025 Earnings Report, as unveiled by the company’s leadership on October 30th.
After highlighting the company’s success in the first half of the year, which in his view included an increase in Rainbow Six Siege playtime and the total profits for The Division, Ghost Recon, and Just Dance franchises had respectively surpassed $1 Billion in revenue, Guillemot took a moment to offer a personal statement regarding Ubisoft’s overall future.
“Despite recent setbacks, we are continuing to deeply transform Ubisoft in order to restore the level of creativity and innovation that built Ubisoft’s success while delivering stronger execution and predictability,” began the CEO. “Even if our first-half performance fell short of our initial expectations, the double-digit growth of our back catalog excluding partnerships reaffirms the quality, uniqueness and value embedded in our brand portfolio and the strength of our Live services. This highlights our potential to deliver more recurring revenue, sustainable growth, and long-term value for our stakeholders.”
“To succeed, we must redouble our focus on execution and reinforce a player-centric mindset in everything we do,” he continued. “For example, we are improving the quality of Star Wars Outlaws, including actively addressing player feedback through title updates as we get ready for the Steam launch, the first story pack, and the upcoming holiday season. We are also taking the additional time to ensure that the upcoming very ambitious opus in our flagship franchise, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, is a highly polished, exceptional experience on day one and that it resonates strongly with players.”
Continuing, Guillemot further asserted, “Over the past semester, we also further advanced our cost reduction plan thanks to strict control on recruitments, targeted restructurings and lower external spend. This is the fruit of a group-wide effort, and I would like to thank the teams as we are transforming the Company into a more efficient and agile organization. Over the first semester, we have already achieved more than €200m savings versus two years ago on an annualized basis. There still remains work to be done to support robust cash-flow generation in the future.”
“The Executive Committee review, aimed at improving our execution focused on a player-centric and gameplay-first approach, is progressing,” he added. “This notably includes actions aimed at tackling the dynamics behind the polarized comments around Ubisoft so as to protect the Group’s reputation and maximize our game’s sales potential.”
Finally bringing his thoughts to a close, Guillemot ultimately declared, “We remain committed to making decisions in the best interests of all of our stakeholders. In this context, as we have already indicated, the Company is also reviewing all its strategic options.”
Notably, this communiqué from Guillemot comes just a little over a month after Ubisoft lowered their Q2 FY2024-25 financial targets, at which time the CEO uttered his first promise regarding a ‘restoration’ of his company’s reputation.
“In the light of recent challenges, we acknowledge the need for greater efficiency while delighting player,” he told investors. “As a result, beyond the first important short-term actions undertaken, the Executive Committee, under the supervision of the Board of Directors, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model to the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders.”
Further, he also took a moment to “address some of the polarized comments around Ubisoft lately”, in turn asserting in the company’s defense, “I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda. We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.”
Ubisoft’s next Triple-A title, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, is currently on track to begin its journey across Feudal Japan when the game hits shelves on its new release date of February 14th, 2025.