Shares of French gaming company Ubisoft tumbled 18% on Thursday as investors punished the company for poor results in the financial year and a bleak outlook for the upcoming fiscal year.
Ubisoft’s Q1
The company behind Assassin’s Creed saw its net bookings drop by 20.5% to €1.85 billion ($2.1 billion) in the financial year.
Ubisoft said “lower than expected partnerships” caused the decline in net bookings.
The company also reported a €15.1 million ($16.9 million) operating loss for the year
The strong performance of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, the latest version of the popular game, failed to lift the company’s fortunes in the year.
The game itself was delayed two times before being released in March.
This was after Star Wars Outlaws, another major title, received a poor reception after its release.
Ubisoft guidance disappoints investors
Ubisoft’s guidance for the financial year 2025-26 also failed to impress the investors.
The game maker expects to break even at operating profit for the next financial year ending in 2026.
It expects net bookings to be flat year-on-year. Ubisoft’s guidance puts net bookings at around €310 million ($347.2 million).
The company expects to return to free cash flow generation in FY27.
Barclays analysts said the operating profit and free cash flow outlook is well below expectations, with no huge surprise launch to help the company out.
The investment bank, in its note, said that though it has strong hopes for the company in the years beyond, the investors will believe in free cash flow only “when it is in front of them”.
The company’s stock was down 18% to €9.52 on Thursday afternoon.
The stock is down nearly 26% in 2025 so far.
The game maker faced financial struggles, underperformance of its major titles, and developmental delays.
All these troubles have reflected in its stock performance
Tencent lifeline
In March, Chinese tech major Tencent announced investing €1.16 billion ($1.25 billion) in a new gaming subsidiary with Ubisoft.
Tencent will have a 25% stake in the subsidiary.
Ubisoft said the subsidiary is valued at €4 billion, including debt.
The new subsidiary will work on Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands.
The game maker looks to reverse its fortunes through this partnership with the Chinese giant.
Through this partnership, Ubisoft and Tencent will develop multi-platform game ecosystems around their best-selling franchises.
This deal adds to Tencent’s presence in gaming markets, as it already owns stakes in gaming firms such as Riot Games and Epic Games.
Ubisoft said it expects to conclude the deal by the end of 2025.
It also looks to maintain a consolidated net debt position of around zero after closing the deal.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has sold 200 million copies worldwide.
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