A day after abruptlycanceling its Tokyo Games Show appearance,Ubisoft’s2024-2025 fiscal year reportannounced the delay ofAssassin’s Creed: Shadowsand the launch of a company-wide internal investigation, among other changes.
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The report came after thecompany’s stock plummetedpast its previous low point of $16.42 to $12.72 today. Theirrevised FY24-25 net bookings are around $371 to $392.2 million.
Although the report didn’t emphasizeStar Wars: Outlaws’shortcomings,calling its launch “soft,” it seems the game hit where it hurts.
In a massive departure from usual Ubisoft dealings, theFrench developer has announced thatShadowswill be delayed until Feb. 14, 2025with aday 1 Steam release. This decision was made after considering “players' feedback, and as an illustration of our player-centric approach.”
There wasno word on whether Steam releases would be an ongoing policy.
The game will also be available to all players simultaneously and preorders will be rewarded with the first expansion for free.
I want to reaffirm that we are an entertainment-first company, creating games for the broadest possible audience, and our goal is not to push any specific agenda.
-CEO Yves Guillemot
Star Warswon’t be left to the winds, however. The report outlinedplanned updates and a Nov. 21 Steam release to “position Star Wars Outlaws as a strong long-term performer.”
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At the end of the report,CEO Yves Guillemot promised they’re “launching a review aimed at further improving our execution.”
Between all the legalese jargon,Ubisoft basically admits it lost a lot of money and fans this year.We can expectmore information come Oct. 30 asUbisoftreleases its first half of the year financial report (H1).
Anyone following Ubisoft’s 2024 saga might notice thatMr. Guillemot’s statement did not respond to a certain challenger.
Earlier this month, a minority shareholder,AJ Investments, represented by itsfounder Juraj Krupa,issued an open letter to Ubisoft’s stakeholderscriticizing management.
Krupaalleged that the Guillemot family acted with Chinese conglomerate Tencent to artificially devalue Ubisoft stock, so the Guillemots could buy back cheaper andgain more control over the company they founded.
The letter threatened that if restructuring demands - with anew CEO being one of them- aren’t met, Krupa would bring minority shareholders together against management.
We remain committed to creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy
-Yves Guillemot
Mr. Guillemot’s statement in thereport left out any mention of the open letter. While the internal investigation could be a reply, it’s a stretch asGuillemot’s status as CEO won’t be disputed by it.
Starting an internal investigation into Ubisoft is a good decision, given the way this year has gone, even if italludes to Guillemot’s increasing control over the company.
Still, as Ubisoft fans have learned,promises and investigations don’t mean anything till a finished game goes beyond mediocrity for a change.
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