Ubisoft Projects $399M Q2 Bookings via Black Flag Resynced

Ubisoft has published its first quarter financials, reporting that net bookings reached €255.8 million ($276.3 million USD). While down 9.2% year-on-year, this result was "slightly above guidance" thanks to the mobile title Invincible: Guarding the Globe. The company attributed the decrease to a "high comparison base" from the same period last year, which included significant revenue from Assassin's Creed Shadows after launching in March.

When examining the financial ledger, all key performance figures reflect this ongoing transition period. Total revenue for the quarter settled at €268.2M ($289.7M), representing a 13.7% drop year-on-year. Meanwhile, total net bookings reached €255.8M ($276.3M), down 9.2% year-on-year. Digital net bookings generated €206.2M ($222.7M), falling 17.6% year-on-year, while back catalogue net bookings proved resilient by contributing €221M ($238.7M), which is down 15.1% year-on-year.

The quarter's active momentum was driven by live-service and mobile updates. Notably, Ubisoft's net bookings were driven by the mobile title Invincible: Guarding the Globe, following the TV series' fourth season release and the addition of a new in-game character. According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, these combined factors "drove meaningful player acquisition, retention, and monetization." On PC and consoles, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege performed "in line with expectations," with average daily active users increasing slightly after the launch of Siege X. 

Meanwhile, The Division 2 launched Year 8 Season 1, resulting in "improved year-on-year monetisation trends driven by virtual currency conversion and DARPU records." Looking ahead, Ubisoft's second quarter began strongly, led by the release of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, which sold 3.5M copies in its first two weeks and has "exceeded annual expectations." 

Record PC Performance on Steam for the Assassin's Creed Franchise

The franchise achieved record performance on PC, reaching a peak of 105,000 concurrent players on Steam, the highest ever for an Assassin's Creed title on the platform. This resulted in a "historical proportion of sales for the franchise on PC," driven by strong performance in the US and Chinese markets, as per Gamesindustry.biz. 

Addressing the game's reception, CEO Guillemot highlighted that the early July release of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced by Vantage Studios serves as a highly encouraging milestone for the company. He noted that the title's commercial success demonstrates the lasting strength and appeal of the Assassin's Creed franchise, while also showing "the early benefits of our ongoing transformation and commitment to delivering very high-quality experiences." 

Ubisoft has continued making progress in its group-wide transformation, announced earlier this year with the formation of Creative Houses. Former Amazon Games vice president and 2K co-founder Christoph Hartmann has been appointed general manager of Creative House 2. This unit oversees the Splinter Cell, The Division, and Ghost Recon franchises, and will also house March of the Giants. 

Simultaneously, the company closed studios in Winnipeg and Belgrade and reduced publishing roles worldwide, with 380 jobs reportedly at risk. Ubisoft proposed that Ubisoft Barcelona would focus exclusively on the Rainbow Six franchise. However, Ubisoft's Barcelona studio was affected by layoffs after the launch of Black Flag Resynced, leading to staff strikes.

As operations evolve, Ubisoft expects net bookings to decline "by a high single-digit percentage" and anticipates a "high single-digit negative non-IFRS operating margin." Net bookings for Q2 are projected to be around €370M ($399.6M). "FY2026-27 remains a year of disciplined execution as we continue to implement our transformation, invest behind our strongest opportunities and prepare for a significantly stronger content cycle," said Guillemot.

He further added, "We are confident this new operating model will strengthen our position as a leading creator of high-quality, memorable and engaging entertainment experiences, and enable the Group to return to a stronger trajectory of performance, cash generation and long-term value creation."