Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is going from strength-to-strength for Ubisoft. After netting 2m sales in its opening few days (and then ascending to 3m within a week), Ubisoft has just announced that the game has sold through an impressive 3.5m units – meaning the remake has “exceeded annual expectations within its first 14 days”, per a new financial report from the publisher.
The rest of the financial report isn’t such pleasant reading for the troubled firm, however. Ubisoft’s Q1 Net Bookings reached €256m, which is down 9% year-on-year (though slightly above guidance, at least). Interestingly enough, the better-than-expected revenue for the company all around is pinned on “record performance for Invincible: Guarding the Globe”, an idle squad RPG set in the Invincible universe that features a new story independent of the comics or the Amazon TV show.
“The rest of our portfolio, including Rainbow Six Siege, performed in line with our expectations,” says Yves Guillemot, co-Founder and chief executive officer of Ubisoft. Of course, any financial report in the games indsutry wouldn’t be complete at the moment without references to layoffs – even if they are mentioned in corporate-speak and euphemism. “We also continued to execute our transformation. This included further targeted rightsizing actions and the ongoing reconcentration of resources towards our highest-potential opportunities,” notes Guillemot. “At the same time, the leadership of our new operating model and organization continues to take shape, including the appointment of Christoph Hartmann to lead Creative House 2 in building a world-class portfolio of battlefield-driven experiences.”
This ‘rightsizing’ likely refers to layoffs at Ubisoft Barcelona – an unpopular decision that resulted in staff action, which follows on from previous reports that Ubisoft would reportedly close two studios and restructure another, with around 380 jobs expected to be lost as a result.
“The strong launch of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced in early July by Vantage Studios is an encouraging
proof point,” continues Guillemot in the finacical report. “The game is the highest-rated Assassin’s Creed title since the original Black Flag, and we are very pleased with the praise it received from players. Two weeks in, the title has already exceeded the annual expectations we had. I would like to warmly thank the teams whose talent and dedication brought it to life. This launch illustrates the enduring appeal of the Assassin’s Creed brand, as well as the early benefits of our ongoing transformation and commitment to delivering very high-quality experiences.”
I’m sure those words will be of small comfort to the impacted teams in Barcelona and beyond. It’s notable that this is the third round of layoffs at Ubisoft so far this year. In March, the publisher laid off over 100 people at Ghost Recon custodian studio Red Storm Entertainment, and earlier in the year, the company shuttered its Halifax and Stockholm studios in a massive, company-wide restructuring move. Will the company’s increased profitability end the wave of job losses? It remains to be seen.
