Ubisoft has released a new annual financial report, alongside the Universal Registration Document, outlining the company’s results and strategies.
As highlighted by Stephen Totilo on GameFile, the company repeated last year’s statement about releasing a game when it’s not “sufficiently developed,” and added a new statement addressing delayed releases. According to the report, “releasing a game too late – when market anticipation has waned and it no longer meets market standards in a highly competitive environment – can also hinder its success.” Ubisoft doesn’t name particular titles that might have faced a prolonged development cycle, but among the games that could perhaps have been released earlier for better commercial success are Assassin’s Creed Shadows, mobile games Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence, Skull and Bones, the Prince of Persia remake, and Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Also, in this year’s report, the company removed last year’s claim that monetization makes games more fun, which drew significant attention. It read: “Our monetization offer within premium games makes the player experience more fun by allowing them to personalize their avatars or progress more quickly.” This year, the company kept only the first part: “At Ubisoft, the golden rule when developing premium games is to allow players to enjoy the game in full without having to spend more.”