Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell revenues decline, Ubisoft’s mobile games plummet, but MTG signs a Monumental acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Company Profile
Ubisoft
Website
www.ubi.com
About
Ubisoft is a leading international developer, publisher, and distributor of interactive entertainment products founded in 1986 by the five Guillemot brothers.
Related People
Kari Silvennoinen
Business Intelligence Lead
Jean-Philippe Pieuchot
MD
Alain Corre
Executive Director, EMEA Territories
Chris Early
VP of Digital Publishing
Yves Guillemot
CEO
Abdelhak Elguess
Senior Producer
Frédéric Peltier
Technical Production Director
Baptiste Chardon
Monetization Manager
Leon Winkler
Director of International Events
Jordi Martin
Studio Manager
Aileen Bergman
UA Expert
Jesse Knapp
Lead Games Designer
+9 more
Accolades
Articles featuring Ubisoft
Moving From Mobile
Only 7% of Ubisoft’s net bookings are from mobile, down 28% YoY
Ubisoft’s console lineup has brought in the bulk of its bookings in Q1-Q3
Who's At The Show
A masterclass in gaming excellence: Gain insights from industry titans this month
Sharing knowledge and inspiring success: Learn from the masters at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024, the premier gaming event of the year!
Ubisoft Layoffs
Ubisoft lays off a further 124 employees
Ubisoft has lost over 1000 members of staff since September 2022
Jaws Of Defeat
Ubisoft London studio to close following loss of Hungry Shark development duties
After having the game they created handed to Ubisoft Barcelona, the move has proved to be the end of the line for Hungry Shark's originators
Ubisoft Financials
Ubisoft generated $885.2 million in revenue in the first half of 2023
The company broke records during the period
Hybridcasual Hype
A casual revolution: Why even console devs want in on hybridcasual
Mobile changes fast, and while brave devs lead the way, there are plenty more happy to follow the lead
Mission Accomplished
Done deal: Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal approved by UK regulators
Video game's biggest deal ever just got approved with Activision Blizzard becoming part of Microsoft for $68.7 billion
Green Gaming
Tencent, Apple, Ubisoft, and Nintendo lead the industry in carbon emission reduction
The games industry is slowly going green, but still emitted 81 million tonnes of greenhouse gases last year
Feature
Mass games industry job losses in 2023, but is the end in sight?
Not counting the losses at Alphabet, these collective layoffs surpass 3000 jobs
Cloud Gaming
Ubisoft predicts a Netflix-style boom for cloud gaming
“We strongly believe in the next five to 10 years, many games will be streamed and will also be produced in the cloud”
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including Final Fantasy failure, the game industry's talent hunt and something about a 'runtime fee'?…
Closures
Hungry Shark developers Ubisoft London to close
The studio - formerly Future Games of London - was acquired by Ubisoft in 2013
Iphone 15 Reveal
“iPhone is the best mobile gaming platform in the world”
So says Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Greg Joswiak as he turns to gaming to show off the real power of iPhone 15 Pro
Big Numbers
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Mobile already has 17 million pre-orders
Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot praises the game's flying start
Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia’s AI business is through the roof and the peak is nowhere in sight
AI’s place in games development is only just being felt and, frankly, it’s hard to see where this train stops
Acquiblizz
Activision Blizzard's Bobby Kottick clarifies his company's position in the latest deal twist
With Microsoft cutting their cloud gaming titles adrift, what does that mean for Activision Blizzard?
Aquiblizz
Microsoft sell cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft to dodge the UK's Activision Blizzard deal block
And the deal goes on… All parties are agreed on the new UK-specific arrangement with an October 18 deadline for final approval
Moving To Mobile
Mobile exclusive Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade launches first closed beta
The open-world game is available on iOS and Android until 11 August 2023
Ubisoft Financials
Ubisoft saw $298 million in net bookings in Q1 of the 2023-24 fiscal year, but mobile faltered
The gaming giant saw huge success, but struggled on gaming’s biggest platform
Announcements
Hit comic book series Invincible to get new mobile game courtesy of Ubisoft
The series has seen a major boost in visibility thanks to a hugely successful animated show
Big Festival
BIG Festival is here! Inside Latin America’s biggest gaming event
The festival kicks off next week, and we’ll be on the ground reporting from the show
Ubisoft Mobile
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot on Ubisoft’s increasing presence on mobile
Guillemot outlined their success and future plans for mobile at their Ubisoft Forward event
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including MiHoYo's star performance, gaming in India and never-ending legislation woes…
Ubisoft X Level Infinite
Ubisoft partners with Level Infinite to launch Assassin’s Creed Jade
The companies are also partnering to launch Tom Clancy’s The Division Resurgence in Southeast Asia
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news and discuss unexpected returns, making millions and losing them too…
Financials
Ubisoft upbeat on Rainbow Six and Division Mobile in full-year financials
But it's worse news elsewhere as the company seeks to save at least €200m
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news and discuss cloud gaming, block building and robo writing…
Artificial Intelligence
Ubisoft clarify the use of AI-script writing Ghostwriter
The tech has not yet been implemented but Ubisoft are already reassuring human creatives of their safety
Closures
Ubisoft to shutter some European subsidiaries
Anonymous sources indicate that regional distribution centres will fall victim
Financials
Ubisoft bullish on upcoming mobile releases in latest financials
Two big mobile titles are predicted to boost Ubisoft according to latest financial results
Trends 2023
Mobile games industry trends for 2023: Publishing predictions: Part one
MobileGroove's Peggy Anne Salz looks at AAA growth, multiplatform releases and a shift away from hypercasual
Personalised For Players
Idomoo delivers 18 million personalised videos for Assassin’s Creed’s 15th anniversary
Engagement is impressive with nine out of 10 viewers watching their entire personalised video
New Releases
Ubisoft brings Valiant Hearts spin-off exclusively to Netflix Games
The Valiant Hearts: The Great War spin-off, Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, launches today on Netflix Games
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team look ponder big name buy-outs and new vigour for eSports
Digital Assets
Digital asset trading: The untapped multi-billion market within videogames
Digital assets within games represent a huge business opportunity. But how do we win over gamers who are apprehensive about the blockchain. Here's how
Trouble For Ubisoft
Ubisoft for sale? The games giant is rumoured to be actively pursuing acquisition
Despite massive success in the past, Ubisoft has had a turbulent year
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – September’s Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. Time for… September
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The PocketGamer.biz team reflect on a week of hot new games, success stories and legal worries…
Green Gaming
Ubisoft to educate players on environmental matters through in-game activities
The gaming giants wants to speak to all its players about the climate crisis
Online Harms
Opinion: Riot Games and Ubisoft can’t self-police online harm
Trying to show they care about online harm is good, but the fact is that the problem can’t be solved with AI
Feature
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The PocketGamer.biz team give their take on toxicity, acquisitions and the four day work week
Collaborations
Riot Games and Ubisoft to collaborate in preventing toxic behaviour in games
The two companies are working together on the “Zero Harm in Comms” research project to combat online toxicity in games
Financial Report
Ubisoft’s mobile wing is key to the company’s success, suggests financial report
The company hopes the upcoming Rainbow Six Mobile will accelerate its expansion into mobile-first markets
Mena Data
Overview: The MENA games market is expected to be worth $5 billion by 2025
The Middle East has all the ingredients for the perfect gaming boom, with esports and web3 part of the region's growth
News
Ubisoft unveils ‘Global Creative Office’ in significant restructure
The new office will focus around ‘poles’ and make individual studios more autonomous.
New Hire
NetEase hires Jonathan Morin as creative director
Morin will be joining the Montréal office and focusing on creating new IP
Company Culture
Ubisoft outline plans to amend company culture
The company hopes to address employee complaints, but is it enough?
Hot Five
Hot Five: September 12th. The five stories you need to know before you start your working week
The biggest stories on PocketGamer.biz in the last week
Ubisoft
Ubisoft to focus on mobile gaming moving forward
Ubisoft co-founder and chief executive Yves Guillemot has said the company will have a strong focus on mobile moving forward.