Ubisoft has decided to extend the development timelines for some of its “biggest productions”, in order to try and ensure they meet the high bar set by the Assassin’s Creed Shadows, both by critics and at the tills.
These are unnamed titles that did not have confirmed launch windows, pushing their release back to mid-2026, 2027 or early 2028 and generally giving development teams longer to work on projects. The suggestion that these are their top tier games, and from an investor call Q&A, this would refer to the publisher’s top brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six, The Division and Ghost Recon.
“After a review of our pipeline,” CEO Yves Guillemot said, “we have decided to provide additional development time to some of our biggest productions in order to create the best conditions for success. As a consequence, FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 will see significant content coming from our largest brands.”
This gives an indication to investors that there will not be a massive budget release this financial year. The company still has committed launches for Anno 117: Pax Romana, the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, The Division Resurgence spin-off, Rainbow Six Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege X, and some unannounced titles within this window.
FY 2024-25 was down on the previous year, despite the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows in March, after the underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws last summer. However, AC Shadows should have a long tail into FY 2025-26 that, alongside the new titles, should keep things steady through this year for the successive years to improve upon.
Announced back in March, Ubisoft is creating a new subsidiary in financial partnership with Tencent to act as a new home for some of its biggest studios and franchise – specifically Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six. The expectation is that this will be fully formed by the end of this year.
That comes after their “cost savings program” (read: layoffs) that took place over the last few years. Guillemot says they “are committed to going further” (read: more layoffs) and will aim to make additional savings of €100 million in the next two years. The company cut around 3,000 jobs in the last two years to save €200 million, so simple maths suggests that 1,500 more jobs will be cut in the next year or two. That’s always reassuring to hear for employees…
Source: Ubisoft
