Last week Ubisoft made several major announcements that could spell trouble for the publisher. The company even hosted an emergency investor call on 20 minutes notice, which is a giant red flag in and of itself. Among the announcements was news that Skull & Bones has been delayed yet again and at least 3 unknown projects have been canceled. It’s more bad news for a company that’s known for huge IPs like Assassin’s Creed that has struggled to connect with its audience in the last couple years. Its last Assassin’s Creed game was released in 2020 and 2021 only saw the release of Far Cry 6.
Gamers may be getting skeptical that Skull & Bones as a game actually exists. The game has been delayed once again until early 2023-24, which likely means Ubisoft wants to move the game’s sales to the next fiscal year or the game still needs more work. Either way, gamers will be ready for a firm release date to be announced. Ubisoft canceled 3 unannounced games to go with 4 games that were canceled last quarter. It seems that Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023 underperformed, leading to the cancellation and reshuffling of games for the publisher.
During the investor call and in a press release, Ubisoft revealed that they are reducing their costs by around $200 Million over the next 2 years through what it calls “targeted restructuring, divesting some non-core assets and usual natural attrition.” Axios did say that a Ubisoft spokesperson said that workers on the canceled games would be moved to other teams so perhaps layoffs will be avoided. In an email to its employees, the Ubisoft CEO made it a point to tell the team that it was on them to basically save the company by delivering on its future products. It seems like a lot of pressure to put on teams who largely aren’t the ones making the bigger business decisions that impact a company like this.
Ubisoft does have several major projects in the pipeline that are close to release. It seems that the company is banking on these projects landing big numbers and jumpstarting them once again. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set to release sometime in 2023 after a delay last year.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is also set to release in 2023 and should provide a huge boost that is much needed. Whatever other struggles Ubisoft has, Assassin’s Creed sells predictably well and will give reason for optimism. There’s also several other big games that are coming that aren’t known yet, alongside an open-world Star Wars that is coming down the pipeline, though that could still be several years away.
Ubisoft is a company with a lot of history and some pretty powerful IPs, but has been struggling as of late. It’s making moves to show that it is aware of the struggles and wants to bunker down until its next wave of AAA games can hit. It’s possible that Ubisoft starts to listen to offers to be acquired, but only time will tell what the future holds for them.
Image from: Ubisoft
