Ubisoft 2020-21 Financial Results – Ubisoft publishes best results ever

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Ubisoft has revealed that it has seen its best ever results for the year ended March 31, 2021. For those who have followed the gaming industry, this should not come as much of a surprise to anyone who has followed my industry coverage, the companies within it, or anyone who looks at what has happened worldwide in the past twelve months and comes to the obvious realization that people trapped inside as a result of a pandemic will spend money on video games.

Unsurprisingly, people have spent money on video games. Ubisoft delivered on this with a fantastic year, with net bookings of € 2.24 billion, a huge annual increase of 46.1%. The operating result amounts to € 473.3 million, an increase of 21.1% on an annual basis. Simply put, Ubisoft has made more money than ever before and also put even more money into R&D, boosting their future capabilities. This figure is € 784.9 million, an increase of € 104 million compared to the previous year.

Before we talk about these results and Ubisoft on, let’s take a look at what Yves Guillemot, the CEO and co-founder, had to say:

Our teams demonstrated incredible resilience during a challenging year, delivering great games and experiences. We also relied on on a deep and diversified backcatalog which, again, exceeded our expectations and represented for the third consecutive year more than 50% of our total net bookings, progressive cementing therecurring profile of our company. OYour wealth has never been stronger.

In addition to these successes, we to have continued the transformation of our organization that we had initiated 18 months ago to ensuring Ubisoft is positioned to meaningfully grow audiences and recurring revenues in the coming years. We’ve also made significant changes to make sure the continuous development of an inclusive work environment where our talents ca thrive and deliver the gaming experiences players will love and share.

Ubisoft: Working in the Pandemic and Driving in the Past

There is no doubt that working from home has been a challenge for game developers as well as much of the world with a multitude of roles. Within gaming, many delays and the release of games that no doubt should have been delayed even further are evidence that the lack of in-room contact between departments and reliance on infrastructure such as internet connections have made work difficult.

Reliance on the back catalog is also an undeniable fact. However, this is shared by the industry. More people have finally started buying and playing older titles they were interested in or exploring a medium introduced to them during the pandemic. Ubisoft received € 1.288 billion in net bookings from the back catalog throughout the year, up 15.5% year-over-year and 57.5% of all net bookings in the year.

Several titles and franchises from Ubisoft’s back catalog have received a major boost over the past year. For example, Assassin’s Creed has had a record year performance with annual sales up 50% from its previous record in fiscal year 2012-13. Particularly as a result of Rainbox Six: Siege, Rainbox Six is ​​one of the ten most played premium console or free-to-play video games in 2020, and The Division has reached 40 million unique players, with the franchise to see two new titles , one a free-to-play PC and console title and one a mobile release.

Planning for the future – more to come

As mentioned, Ubisoft has seen more investment in future production than ever before. We are well aware of what some of these titles will become. Ubisoft has already announced and delayed quite a few titles, such as Beyond Good and Evil 2, Skull & Bones and Avatar. We also know that Ubisoft is partnering with Disney to create a Star Wars title, with other titles in the pipeline.

Some of these titles are, as confirmed, free to play games. While some people have misinterpreted this to mean that Ubisoft will move away from “AAA” releases, the fact is that more free to play and casual titles will be released alongside the “AAA” releases, pushing the lineup. of the publisher is diversified and further expand their reach. For premium titles, we know Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine are coming. An Assassin’s Creed is expected later, possibly in fiscal year April 1, 2022, for WFH and COVID reasons.

Regardless, the future for Ubisoft looks bright, and the company expects the results to match. Net bookings for the three months ending are estimated at € 320 million with a full year of net bookings showing single digit growth mainly based on their back catalog and the new range of titles, including the free-to-play entries such as The Division Heartland . Revenue forecasts for the year ending March 31, 2022 are between € 420 and € 500 million, a range that implies a slight year-on-year decline but is likely to represent further R&D over time.

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