Ubisoft
In “Assassin’s Creed Shadows”, postponed for several months by the French publisher Ubisoft, feudal Japan will be the new playground for players.
VIDEO GAMES – You will still have to be patient. The French video game giant Ubisoft once again postponed the release of the next episode of the saga this Thursday, January 9. Assassin’s Creed »now scheduled for March 20, which, combined with other disappointments, led him to lower his financial objectives.
Faced with “ sales lower than expected during the end-of-year holidays » of “ Star Wars Outlaws » and the cessation of “ XDefiant »Ubisoft also indicated that it was studying “ various transformative strategic and capital options, in order to extract the best possible value for stakeholders”.
The manufacturer, which employed 18,666 employees worldwide at the end of September and around 4,000 in France, is the subject of takeover rumors which have multiplied in recent months, notably by the Chinese tech giant Tencent and the Guillemot family. . Several options would be on the table, including a buyout and an exit from the stock market.
“We have taken significant steps to reorganize the group to provide players with the best possible experience, improve operational efficiencies and maximize value creation”said CEO Yves Guillemot in a press release.
Already two postponements
The French publisher, which is playing big with the new episode of its biggest franchise, “ Assassin’s Creed Shadows »decided to postpone its release for another month for “ better integrate player feedback collected over the last three months, and create the best possible conditions for the launch of the game”added Yves Guillemot. The release was initially scheduled for November 12, and had already been postponed to February 14.
The group also indicated that the “ net bookings » (its reference indicator, Editor’s note) for the third quarter of its 2024-2025 financial year (ending March 31) is now expected at around 300 million euros, compared to the 380 million initially planned.
That “ primarily reflects lower than expected holiday sales, notably for Star Wars Outlaws »as well as the announcement in December of the discontinuation of its online shooter “ XDefiant ».
This flop led to the elimination of 277 positions and the closure of three production studios, notably in San Francisco and Osaka. Over the year, Ubisoft now expects a “ net bookings » has “ approximately 1.9 billion euros ».
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
