Ubisoft Surprises With Higher Net Bookings in the First Half of 25/26

The postponement of the publication of the business data has already led to wild speculation. According to Ubisoft, this is due to the appointment of new auditors and accounting issues surrounding some of its partnerships.

Net bookings in Q2 (July to September) exceeded expectations, reaching €490.8 million versus guidance of around €450 million and marking a 39% year-on-year increase. This outperformance was driven by stronger-than-expected partnerships and supported by a robust back catalogue. Overall, net bookings for the first half of 2025–26 stood at €772 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 20.3%. There were 34 million MAUs and 88 million unique users across consoles and PC, which was slightly down while XDefiant was excluded from the base.

For the first half of 2025-26, IFRS 15 sales totalled €657.8 million, a decrease of 2.1% (or 0.3% at constant exchange rates) compared to the figure of €671.9 million generated in the first half of 2024-25.

The transaction with Tencent is set to complete in the coming days. All conditions precedent have been met. Upon completion of the transaction, the €1.16 billion investment will reduce the Group's leverage. It will also accelerate the growth of Vantage Studios’ IP, support selected investment opportunities across the rest of the Group and facilitate ongoing reorganisation efforts. The Group's new operating model, which is designed around Creative Houses will be finalised by the end of the year. The first Creative House (Vantage Studios) is built around the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six franchises.

Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer: "Vantage Studios represents a key element of the transformation of the company towards a new operating model built around Creative Houses. We will have finalized the design of this new organization by the end of the year. These Creative Houses will be autonomous, efficient, focused and accountable business units, each with its own leadership, creative vision and strategic roadmap. This Group-wide transformation reflects our ambition to renew how we create and operate in order to deliver great games for our players and lasting value for our partners and shareholders. The full details of this new operating model will be unveiled in January."

The group’s cost reduction programme is expected to deliver at least €100 million in additional fixed cost savings by FY26/27, compared to FY24/25. This is supported by targeted restructuring and continued recruitment discipline. As of the end of September 2025, Ubisoft’s global headcount was 17,097, reflecting a reduction of around 1,500 employees over the past 12 months and approximately 700 since March 2025. In October, a voluntary leave programme and a proposed restructuring were introduced at the Nordic studios. The fixed cost base for H1 of FY25-26 was around €701 million, a decrease of €69 million (9%) year-on-year, including the favourable impact of foreign exchange rates.

Yves Guillemot: "Additionally, the progress we’ve made in addressing our fixed cost base brings with it confidence that we can continue to drive structural efficiencies across the organization that, together with top line growth, will contribute to ensure a return to strong cash generation in the coming years."

On the subject of group deleveraging, the report states: "The non-IFRS net debt position of €1.15bn at end September comes with a cash and cash equivalent position of €668m . The €1.16bn proceeds from the Tencent transaction will enable to deleverage the Group, and notably the early repayment of the Term Loan and Schuldschein loans, which have an outstanding principal amount of approximately €286 million."

Yves Guillemot: "In a highly competitive market, Ubisoft delivered net bookings above guidance, on the” back of stronger-than-expected partnerships that underscore the appeal and reach of our brands. Our portfolio showed contrasting dynamics this quarter, with softer trends for Rainbow Six Siege, reflecting a phase of evolution for the game in an intense FPS environment, offset by strong performances across the rest of the catalog. The Assassin’s Creed franchise exceeded our expectations, confirming its positive momentum and ability to engage players over time. The Division 2 also continued to perform strongly, benefiting from the momentum of the Battle for Brooklyn DLC, with the game’s first semester already exceeding last year’s annual bookings."

The Assassin’s Creed franchise performed strongly in Q2, with both Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the rest of the catalogue exceeding expectations. To date this year, the franchise has generated 211 million session days, around 35% higher than the two-year average. Beyond Shadows, the rest of the Assassin’s Creed catalogue also performed strongly. Assassin’s Creed Mirage reached the 10 million player mark following the Valley of Memory update. Meanwhile, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege continued to attract new players this quarter, with acquisition levels doubling year-on-year and activity levels remaining stable quarter-on-quarter. There was also a significant year-on-year increase in unique players.

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch premiered on 14 October, landing in Netflix’s daily Top 10 in more than 12 countries, including six consecutive days in the US. Ubisoft: "Its renewal for a second season supports the long-term strategy to deepen engagement through cross-media partnerships, extending the reach of Ubisof t’s iconic gaming IPs across."

The rest of the FY2025-26 line-up includes Anno 117: Pax Romana, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory, both of which have already been released. The Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora From the Ashes expansion is set to release on 19 December, coinciding with the release of the new movie. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, Rainbow Six Mobile, The Division Resurgence and an as yet unannounced title are all planned for release in Q4 (January to March 2026). Rumours suggest that this could be a remake of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The publisher has confirmed its targets for the full year.