Ubisoft meets earnings goal thanks to Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry

Ubisoft today released its earnings report for the first half of the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The publisher met its targets for the period, for which it thanks Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Far Cry 6, as well as the company’s back catalog.

The company reports net bookings for the second quarter of the fiscal year of $458 million (€392.1 million). This is a 13.8% increase from the same period in fiscal year 2020-2021 of $403 million (€344.7 million). However, the first half of the year in total had net bookings of $838.9 million (€718.2 million), which is down from $881.5 million (€754.7 million) from the first half of 2020-2021.

The company paid special attention to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. According to Ubisoft, Valhalla is the second-largest profit generating game in the company’s history. It notes that the Siege of Paris expansion delivered “record engagement.”

It also noted that Far Cry 6 was accruing decent player numbers. It said that this game’s engagement is much higher than Far Cry 5. With its post-launch plans, Ubisoft anticipates it will be a strong performer in the holiday season.

Ubisoft’s back catalog also apparently plays a large role in its popularity. Games like For Honor, The Crew 2, and Rainbow Six Siege are still getting player engagement even years after their launch.

Ubisoft also confirms it’s exploring blockchain, mentioning its recent participation in the recent funding round of Animoca Brands. It says of the technology, “This long-range exploration ties in with Ubisoft’s constant search for innovation and new ways to empower players as true stakeholders of its worlds. It also gives Ubisoft the perspective to reflect on the best ways to overcome blockchain’s initial limitations for gaming around sustainability and scalability.”

In other news, Ubisoft confirmed that three of its games would be pushed to a April 2022-to-March 2023 release window: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, Rocksmith+, and Tom Clancy’s The Division: Heartlands. Roller Champions is still expected to release this fiscal year, but Ubisoft is not factoring it into the guidance.