For the first half of fiscal 2023 which ended 9/30/2022, Ubisoft reported net bookings of €700 million, down 2.6% over fiscal 2022, but higher than targeted. Unfortunately, the company reported an operating loss of €139 million versus an operating income of €44 million for the previous year’s first half.
Analysis
Ubisoft struggled with product delays and development pipeline issues before COVID. Three years ago this time, Ubisoft suffered a major hit when it announced the delay of several major titles. As stay-at-home orders hit the development issues were compounded.
Unlike other major publishers, Ubisoft does not have a solid online liver services revenue stream. The higher-than-expected revenue was due to “higher than anticipated H1 performance of our back-catalog as well as, to a greater extent by faster revenue recognition phasing for the mobile licensing partnership.”
Going forward, much of Ubisoft’s performance is dependent on new product releases. For the third quarter which ends 12/31/22, Ubisoft is releasing only two titles, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope for the Nintendo Switch and the annual Just Dance. In 2023, the company plans to release the much-delayed Skull & Bones, an Avatar game, a Star Wars project, and a new core Assassin’s Creed (along with multiple Assassin’s Creed products and a partnership with Netflix).
