• Ubisoft shares dropped 20% due to the cancellation of their upcoming game and the delay of Skull and Bones
• Three other projects were also cancelled by Ubisoft to focus on existing brands and services
• Ubisoft plans to depreciate around €500m of capitalized R&D
French video game publisher Ubisoft saw its shares plummet 20% after the company announced a slew of bad news. The video game publisher announced that the release of its game „Skull and Bones“ will be delayed. The premiere had previously been scheduled for the 9th of March, but with no specific date fixed, the French company now expects to release the game anytime from April 2023 to March 2024.
On top of the delayed game, Ubisoft also mentioned canceling three other projects. This news was the final nail in the coffin for the company’s share price. The decision to cancel these three projects was made in order to refocus resources on existing brands and live services.
The disappointing sales of Ubisoft’s existing games and the news of cancelations and delays have all taken a toll on the company’s share price. In order to mitigate the losses, Ubisoft plans to ‘depreciate around €500m of capitalized R&D’.
Analysts are expecting the company’s share price to remain volatile in the near-term, as the publisher attempts to recover from this bad news. In addition, the continued delay of the Skull and Bones game means that the game will not be available to the public until at least March 2024.
Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, has tried to remain hopeful and optimistic, stating that the company is “fully committed to our long-term vision of creating the best possible gaming experiences for our players”. He further added that “we remain confident in our strategy and our ability to deliver on our financial targets.”
Despite the company’s optimistic outlook, Ubisoft’s share price still took a hit following the announcement of these delays and cancellations. It will be interesting to see how the company navigates the next few years as it attempts to recover from this bad news.