Ubisoft's Q1 Results Beat Expectations, Strong Slate of Upcoming Titles

Publisher Ubisoft has made a solid start to the new fiscal year, with Q1 net bookings ahead of target. Robust engagement metrics driven by GaaS franchises, particularly XDefiant and Rainbow Six Siege. The Assassin's Creed and The Crew brands are also strong. Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows are further highlights in the pipeline.

Ubisoft started the fiscal year with net bookings for the first quarter (April to June 2024) above target. The French publisher recorded net bookings of €290.0 million, ahead of the target of around €275.0 million and up 8.3% year-on-year. 88.7 per cent of net bookings were digital net bookings and more than half of net bookings (54.7 per cent) were PRI net bookings, i.e. purchases by returning customers. 86 per cent of all net bookings came from the back catalogue. The quarter was marked by strong growth in game session days of 15 per cent across consoles and PC, driven primarily by Games-as-a-Service. Monthly active users reached 38 million, up seven per cent year-on-year.

Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: "In a selective market, we delivered a solid start to the year with net bookings above target, reaffirming that we are on the right track. The quarter notably saw the launch of XDefiant, that is off to an encouraging start as we continue to grow the audience at a steady pace and plan a quarterly roadmap of content that will allow us to firmly establish the game over time."

The Free-to-play-shooter XDefiant launched Season 0 on 21 May and has more than ten million players in its first two weeks. The game has exceeded expectations thanks to acquisition and strong average revenue per session day, according to the company. Rainbow Six Siege showed a strong performance, driven by session days (+34%) and session days per player (+18%), as well as growth in monetisation. Ubisoft: "This quarter saw Year 9 Season 1 become the highest grossing season in Siege's history as well as the full release of the marketplace, that continued to see a sustained level of transactions." The Assassin's Creed and The Crew brands reported growth driven by the contribution of last year's launches. Assassin's Creed outperformed. The launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows drove sales across the catalogue. The Crew Motorfest maintained strong momentum. Both retention and monetisation continue to outperform The Crew 2 since launch. Skull and Bones continues to perform well in terms of engagement and ARPU.

Yves Guillemot: "We also held Ubisoft Forward, that is always a key event for our teams and players, during which we showcased content that is very much aligned with our strategic focus on our two key verticals, Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences. (...) As we progress through FY25, all our efforts are focused on successfully launching our promising new releases and positioning them as long-lasting value drivers for Ubisoft while continuing the transformation of our organization. We are excited about the future and confident in the sustained progress of our turnaround throughout the year."

Net bookings for the second quarter of 2024-25 are expected to come in at around €500 million. In this quarter, Ubisoft will release both Monopoly 2024 and Star Wars Outlaws (30 August) – as well as numerous content updates for back-catalogue games. Assassin's Creed Shadows is set to release on 15 November. It "is the most ambitious Assassin's Creed yet" for the publisher. Anno 117: Pax Romana announced at Ubisoft Forward is set to launch in FY2025-26 (calendar year 2025). The publisher says, that the game is "designed to be the biggest, most detailed Roman simulation to date".

"Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence are no longer expected in FY25 as the teams are taking the necessary time to ensure that these experiences deliver on expectations with optimized KPIs in the context of a demanding yet very large market. The Company confirms its financial targets. It expects solid net bookings growth, a slight increase in non-IFRS operating income and growing non-IFRS Cash Flow from Operations leading to positive Free Cash Flow," the publisher states.

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