Ubisoft Releasing Less Games, Focused On Games As Service

Ubisoft ended 2017 with strong hits such as Assassin’s Creed Origins, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole. However, surprising Ubisoft is looking to release less games more focused on long-term engagement.

During a recent financial briefing, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explains that “[Ubisoft’s] success reflects the industry’s move towards a model that is less dependent on releasing new games. New releases now only represent a part of our business, which is now focused on long-term engagement with our player communities.”

Guillemot also notes that “Our players not only play for more hours at a time but do so over a period of months or even years” and that player engagement has “dramatically increased” thanks to its multiplayer titles. The 2 charts above showcase that games as a service continuously make money while others drop off after the second year. As we've seen from Rainbow Six Siege, which released back in 2015, the game still has a strong community following.

This strategy is has been adapted with Activision through Bungie's Destiny franchise and EA attempting the same with Anthem. As we've seen microtransaction have been extremely profitable with $4 billion made by Activision Blizzard alone. 

Fans of Ubisoft games can expect more service systems, with Far Cry 5's season pass already announced.

Ubisoft Sources: 1 2

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
Twitter | YouTube | Facebook