The financial report from Ubisoft is a love letter to the games-as-a-service model behind the games The Division and Rainbow Six Siege.
It is that time of year when the financial reports from gaming companies pour in. And all financial reports read this year like a love letter to the beautiful new world of multiplayer online games. At Ubisoft, it almost takes on sexual connotations.
It’s a world where the big ones keep getting bigger. A world where successful online games rake in a fortune for publishers year after year, even long after their release.
Ubisoft has created a presentation about the 3rd quarter of the fiscal year 2018, and it looks a bit like a “games-as-a-service” porn. This is the model behind games like The Division and Rainbow Six Siege – and Ubisoft loves it.
Publishers earn money from games much longer than before
One of the key figures is how much money a game earns in the second year after its release. While it used to be only 13% of the launch year, today with “games-as-a-service” it’s 52%.
This means that the “back catalog” of publishers, meaning the already released games, is becoming increasingly important. One no longer needs a hit every year; one can live well off the hits of previous years.
When it comes to these “live games,” Ubisoft counts games like Rainbow Six Siege or The Division – the money is made here through microtransactions – and the PC is more important in this new model than ever before.
Ubisoft as a role model
Ubisoft believes it can play an outstanding role in this new world.
Ubisoft sees itself as a kind of “pioneer” in this trend. The individual pages of the presentation seem to shout: “Look, we have understood the new world. We are doing everything right.” In 2017, there is now a much greater focus on multiplayer and open world than in 2011.
In terms of crucial digital revenue, Ubisoft wants to catch up with competitors Electronic Arts (FIFA) and Activision Blizzard (Overwatch, Call of Duty, Hearthstone).
Looking to the future, Ubisoft has three major goals:
- Conquer China – aiming for a partnership with Tencent
- Enter eSports with Rainbow Six Siege
- Increase focus on PC and mobile
More about the new world of games-as-a-service and how successful it is can be found here:
4-year-old game beats Destiny 2 in digital revenue on PS4, Xbox One
