Ubisoft reports 52% drop in Q3 net bookings, in line with guidance

(Reuters) - France's largest video game maker Ubisoft reported on Thursday a 52% year-on-year fall in third quarter net bookings as the company has been plagued by the underperformance of some of its key titles.

The maker of the blockbuster franchise "Assassin's Creed" reported net bookings of 301.8 million euros ($314.69 million) for the three months ending December 31, in line with its revised guidance of about 300 million euros.

It confirmed its financial targets and expects net bookings of around 1.9 billion euros and about break-even non-IFRS operating income and free cash flow for FY2024-25. Fourth quarter net bookings are expected to grow year-on-year thanks to the "Assassin’s Creed Shadows" release.

Ubisoft is now focusing on the launch of the newest instalment of the "Assassin's Creed" franchise set for March 20. "Assassin's Creed Shadows" is an action-adventure game, set in feudal Japan, in which players follow the stories of a shinobi assassin (Naoe) and a samurai (Yasuke).

"Early previews have been positive, praising its narrative and immersive experience, with both characters playing critical roles in the game’s storyline, as well as the quality and complementarity of the gameplay provided by the dual protagonist approach", CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement.

Ubisoft said that pre-orders for the game are "tracking solidly", in line with those of "Assassin’s Creed Odyssey", the second most successful entry of the franchise.

The company now expects to exceed 200 million euros in fixed cost reductions by FY2024-25 versus FY2022-23, ahead of schedule, and plans to pursue these efforts in FY26.

Ubisoft said that the review of strategic options is ongoing and an ad-hoc independent board committee will oversee the process to extract the best value from Ubisoft’s assets and franchises for all stakeholders.

($1 = 0.9590 euros)

(Reporting by Adrianna Ebert in Gdansk)