Ubisoft plans to reorganize into "Creative Houses" following Q1 25-26 financial results that were "lower-than-expected"

Image credit: Ubisoft

Ubisoft has disclosed its financial performance for the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year, indicating results that fell short of expectations. Challenges included a poor showing by Rainbow Six Siege, adverse impacts from foreign exchange rates, and a postponed partnership now anticipated to unfold in the second quarter. Despite these hurdles, back-catalog net bookings saw a 4% increase compared to the previous year.

CEO Yves Guillemot remarked, "The first quarter presented mixed outcomes. On the upside, Assassin’s Creed Shadows met projections, achieving over five million unique players to date, while Rainbow Six Siege X garnered highly favorable player reactions due to its updated gameplay and enhanced features, significantly boosting player interaction."

Guillemot continued, noting that spending within Rainbow Six Siege encountered short-term setbacks due to resolved technical pricing issues, yet he expressed confidence in the game’s ongoing growth, driven by strong activity and in-game purchases.

Key Financial Figures:

First quarter of 2025-26 fiscal year, ending June 30, 2025

Revenue: €310.8 million ($365 million, a decrease of 3.9% year-over-year)
Net bookings: €281.6 million ($331 million, a decline of 2.9%)
Digital net bookings: €250.2 million ($294 million, down 2.7%)
Back-catalogue net bookings: €260.4 million ($306 million, an increase of 4.4%)

To progress its transformation strategy, Ubisoft intends to transition into "Creative Houses," a structural reorganization designed to enhance quality, focus, and accountability alongside fostering closer player relationships. This transformation includes the establishment of a new subsidiary introduced in March, alongside a recently assigned leadership team.

Ubisoft highlighted positive progress in their transaction with Tencent, anticipating completion by year-end.

While Assassin’s Creed Shadows matched forecasts with more than five million players engaged, Rainbow Six Siege X launched its tenth season on June 10 and faced a "pricing issue" deriving from prepaid currency card purchases that temporarily affected virtual currency balances. Despite this, session days increased approximately 25% year-over-year, and June marked the third-highest monthly active users in the game's history, trailing only spring 2020's COVID peak.

The Division 2 also experienced a robust start to the fiscal year with its Year 7, Battle for Brooklyn DLC release. Ubisoft shared limited details on sales for Star Wars Outlaws but confirmed its Switch 2 release on September 4, along with its second DLC, A Pirate's Fortune, which launched in May.

Discussing the transformation, Guillemot stated, "We've outlined a novel operational model pivoting around Creative Houses business units." He emphasized that these units, representing Ubisoft's various gaming experiences, would improve quality, focus, and accountability, enhancing both creative vision and business performance. He noted the new subsidiary overseeing major franchises like Assassin’s Creed is the inaugural Creative House, marking a shift toward a more agile, focused entity that maintains stability and creative foresight.