Ubisoft’s Financial Year Results

Over the past month we’ve covered the financial results of Activision Blizzard, Square Enix and Paradox Interactive. One thing they all have in common is a good level of success, revealing strong quarterly or yearly performances. Continuing this trend are Ubisoft (EPA: UBI 47.90 1.98%) who have revealed a non-IFRS operating income of €236.7 million, a record high for the company. This is a marked 40.7% increase on the previous year, coming from increased sales revenue and relatively stable expenses. Sales have increased 4.7% year on year, rising to €1.46 Billion, with a record high non-IFRS profit margin of 16.3%.

The Breakdown of Sales

While sales certainly didn’t increase to the same level of income, what has worked for Ubisoft is the diversification of these sales. For the first time, digital now accounts for 50% of sales revenue, rising from 32% in 2015-16. This has risen on the back of a 131.2% increase in player recurring investment to €304m. This measure includes downloadable content (DLC), season passes, subscriptions and advertising. A further boost has been a sharp 26.7% increase in monthly active users (MAUs).

One other major contributing factor to the sales has been the sizable back catalogue of the company. 44%, or €649.2m of the year’s sales figures were from older titles. This is a marked increase from last year, which saw only 26% of sales revenue come from their back catalogue.

What may come as a slight surprise is the division of sales by platform. Where other companies are seeing increased growth from mobile, Ubisoft don’t appear to be. Sales on the PlayStation 4 platform are at 41%, down 1% year on year. The Xbox One gained 1%, rising to 27%. The older generation of platforms (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, etc) saw the largest decline, falling 5% to just 7%. This should be expected, although the gains were unevenly divided with the PC gaining 4%, rising to 18%. Other platforms, which includes mobile, only gained 1%, rising to 7%. However, this has a large potential to change in the near future. The acquisition of mobile developer Ketchapp in September 2016 offers Ubisoft a platform to build a strong base to benefit from the growing mobile gaming sector.

Look to the Future

CEO Yves Guillemot stated “The execution of our strategic plan fully paid off in 2016-17, with further very strong growth for the digital segment – which now accounts for 50% of total sales – and an ever-more recurring profile.” Mr Guillemot then went on to speak of future plans by saying “Over the last three fiscal years, Ubisoft has – with remarkable success – created numerous new brands and re booted Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon. These successes have strengthened our visibility for the coming two fiscal years, with a line-up of releases principally comprised of established franchises. In 2017-18 we will see the exciting returns of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, The Crew and South Park. In 2018-19 we intend to pursue our digital transformation and consolidate our new business model, which is much more recurring and more profitable and is now significantly less exposed to new releases. This revision of our assumptions gives greater visibility for meeting our targets.”

Ubisoft’s guidance for the 2017-18 financial year is for sales of around €1.7bn with a non-IFRS operating income of €270m. Strategic targets for the 2018-19 fiscal year are sales of around €2.1bn with digital revenue exceeding 55% of total sales. To meet this the company expects four AAA titles releases, selling around 28 million units. This will be combined with an increase lifespan of titles, increasing back catalogue sales. This looks to increase the profit margin to a target of 21% with a non-IFRS operating income of €440m.

Ubisoft have started on the route to a targeted increase of presence in the mobile sector due to the purchase of Ketchapp. In addition, Ubisoft have partnered with Tencent (HKG: 0700 268.40 1.90%) for an upcoming Might & Magic game targeted at the Chinese market. The strong year with the high plans for the near future could lead to good things by Ubisoft, though the same strong results increases how compelling a target they are in the long-running saga with Vivendi (EPA: VIV 18.94 0.91%).

New Assassin’s Creed To Be Revealed At E3, It Seems

Very soon.

The new Assassin’s Creed game that Ubisoft confirmed today during its earnings briefing, may be formally announced at E3. Ubisoft sent an email blast today, informing fans to “stay tuned for E3.”

The image included in the email shows the famous Assassin’s Creed logo and the tag line, “Make history.” That’s all there is to go on at this time, unfortunately.

Ubisoft has yet to announce when its E3 briefing will take place this year, though history suggests that it’ll take place on the afternoon of Monday, June 12.

Ubisoft’s E3 briefing might also bring more news about the just-announced games Far Cry 5 and The Crew 2, while surprises are also surely in store as well.

Going back to the new Assassin’s Creed game, it is rumored to be titled Assassin’s Creed: Origins. An off-screen image purporting to be a “first look” at Origins was also leaked alongside the name. It featured a bow-wielding character on a boat, calling to mind elements of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

For more on today’s big Ubisoft news, which came out of the company’s latest earnings report, check out the stories linked belo

Next Assassin’s Creed named Origins, to feature Naval Combat

WWG’s sources are claiming that the next Assassin’s game, codenamed Empire, is actually going to be called Assassin’s Creed: Origins and is set to be revealed during E3 this year.

Its source also cites Origins as being a massive open world experience which, as rumors previously suggested, takes place in Ancient Egypt.

The story is apparently going to revolved around the original guild of Assassins and will prominently feature both a male and female playable character.

The source also says the game will feature a less linear system, and comparisons were often made to Skyrim by the development team.

 

It also cites Origins as being the biggest Assassin’s Creed game ever made both in terms of scale and scope. The game will feature Naval combat and might have unlockable areas going beyond Ancient Egypt, such as Greece.

The game which is rumored to release in Fall 2017 is to get a proper reveal during E3 this year, according to the report.

Okay, this might be the first image of the new Assassin’s Creed Origins

Okay, let’s be cautious here but this Reddit post could be the first shot of Assassin’s Creed, possibly called Origins.

I’m in the process of trying to verify this, so treat it with extreme caution for the time being.

It does match up with rumours currently floating around that the next game’s set in Egypt, will be called Assassin’s Creed Origins and have a much more Black Flag like vibe, with a massive open world and two main characters. The poster claims modern day sections will return and that it’s using a revamped version of the Anvil Engine to enable more seamless transitions through the world. He reiterates that the Black Flag team is working on it, so Black Flag 2 essentially?

If it is fake then it’s beautifully made. The ‘assassinate the crocodile’ sub-mission is a nice touch and harks back to the ‘air assassinate an ocelot’ from Black Flag. The main mission says ‘Follow Shadya to Khenut’s villa’.

Khenut, according to wiki was “a Queen of Egypt, the wife of King Unas. She lived during the time of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt.” So that matches up with the series’ use of historical characters. I’m not getting a hit on Shadya though.

I’ve contacted Ubi but I’m expecting a firm ‘no comment’ [UPDATE: I’ve received a very firm ‘no comment’] and, as I said there’s no proof this is legit yet, this is repeating info that has already been rumoured. I’m chasing it up now and I’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE

The man on the ship also matches this (since removed) image leaked a few months ago – that’s the same shield and trousers as this new shot.

New Need For Speed Game Confirmed For 2017, Will Not Be Always Online

But no details about what it’ll be yet.

Back in March 2016, following the release of the Need for Speed reboot, EA announced that the series would not have an annual release cycle. Instead, it stated that a new game would come sometime in 2017. Today, EA and developer Ghost Games have confirmed that there will, in fact, be a Need for Speed game launching by the end of this year.

Fans will have to wait a bit longer to hear news about what, exactly, this upcoming game will be. Ghost stated in a press release that it will share information about the next Need for Speed in the run up to EA’s E3 2017 event, EA Play. However, it did hint at some of the important features that will be included, specifically customization and police pursuits.

“Rest assured that we’re committed to customization having a home within the Need for Speed series,” Ghost stated. “It’s not going away and it will play as strong a role as ever as we move forward into the next game and beyond.”

In addition, Ghost shared that it is focusing on making the next Need for Speed’s world beautiful and full of things to do, including off-road driving: “Whether you’re checking out your freshly customized ride or smoking the competition in an event up in the canyons, you’re going to want a world that not only looks beautiful, but offers you the space in which to do the things you want. We’re dialing up the action and allowing you to tear up the tarmac, and dirt, to your heart’s content.”

Finally, Ghost revealed that it is making at least one significant change from the reboot, which was released in 2015. That game was always online, meaning that you couldn’t play it unless you were connected to the Internet. This will not be the case for the 2017 game. “When release day rolls around for the next Need for Speed, you will be able to play through a single player experience completely offline. Before you ask, and we know you will, this does mean you will be able to pause the game.”