Gaming Giant Vows To ‘Protect’ Reputation After ‘Malicious Online Attacks’
Ubisoft – the French game publisher – employs around 19,000 people, so when co founder and CEO Yves Guillemot speaks to investors about the good, the bad and the ugly, ears prick up.
There is quite a bit to unpack from Guillemot’s pre-earnings call statement, released on Wednesday.
An Executive Committee review, aimed at improving the company’s “execution focused on a playercentric and gameplay-first approach … is progressing”, he said.
“This notably includes actions aimed at tackling the dynamics behind the polarised comments around Ubisoft, so as to protect the Group’s reputation and maximise our game’s sales potential.”
What exactly “tackling the dynamics behind the polarised comments around Ubisoft” means, and how the company intends to address such a dilemma, remains somewhat of a mystery.
However, as Digital Trends notes, there has been “a lot of anger online directed toward developers working on Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The backlash has concerned the inclusion of historical Black samurai Yasuke as one of the main characters, among other things”.
In an interview on the Ubisoft website in June, Guillemot said: “One thing I am concerned about right now is the malicious and personal online attacks that have been directed at some of our team members and partners.
“I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms, and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to denounce them, too. I am proud to support the amazing work of our teams and partners, and I will always trust in their creative choices.”
In the first half of 2024 “our performance fell short of our initial expectations”, Guillemot conceded.
However, “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.”
Financials show sales for the second quarter of 2024-25 were down 36.5 per cent year-on-year.
First half 2024-25 sales amounted to €642.3 million (A$1.06 billion), which was 21.9 per cent on the first half 2023- 24.
Guillemot said that “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”.
“This highlights our potential to deliver more recurring revenue, sustainable growth, and long-term value for our stakeholders.”
Ubisoft was frank in its assessment of Star Wars Outlaws, which was released this quarter, describing it as a title that “underperformed” in terms of sales.
“The game achieved solid reviews and user scores … reflecting one of the most immersive expressions of the Star Wars universe ever created,” it said, promising that “teams are fully mobilised on implementing changes to enhance game mechanics and overall polish”.
Since the launch of Star Wars Outlaws there have been three updates “focused on quality-of-life features and bug fixing”, Ubisoft said, and this has “produced initial tangible results, with a meaningful community sentiment improvement”.
A fourth update – the “most significant yet” will be released on November 21.
“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,” the company said.
Ubisoft had cut 200 million euros (A$330 million) from its budget via “strict control on recruitments, targeted restructurings and lower external spend”.
“There still remains work to be done to support robust cash-flow generation in the future,” Guillemot said.