Ubisoft has released its financial figures for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2019/2020. The Division 2 is said to be the biggest hit in the West on PS4, Xbox One, and PC so far in 2019, it says. But Ubisoft’s true love seems to be Rainbow Six Siege. The shooter is becoming more successful as it gets older.
What are these figures? These are Ubisoft’s financial figures for Q1 2019/2020, which spans from April to June.
The special thing is:
- the figures are about 10% weaker at €363.4 million than last year but above their own expectations
- because last year, Far Cry 5 was around this time – this year Ubisoft had no releases from April to June
- this means the revenues came from existing games
The Division 2 biggest hit in 2019 so far – But what is it worth?
This is what Ubisoft says about The Division 2: Here it is said that The Division 2 is “the biggest hit of the gaming industry so far in 2019.”
Ubisoft then further defines this: The Division 2 has sold the most units for consoles and PC in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Japan. This applies for the period from January to June 2019.
Ubisoft comes to this conclusion after reports from market researchers and its own assumptions.
What’s behind this: It’s a bit surprising. In May, it was still said that The Division 2 had fallen short of expectations on PS4 and Xbox One. However, it apparently still sufficed for the “biggest hit” – probably also because there has been hardly any competition so far.
The only “big other hit of 2019” so far has been Apex Legends – a Free2Play title.
Who owns the true love? Two other games from Ubisoft have been explicitly highlighted:
- Rainbow Six Siege – it has performed even stronger in its 4th year than last year. The game is one of the 10 best-selling titles of the last 5 years.
- and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – this apparently performs significantly better than its predecessor Origins.
Additionally, there is praise for their own E3 appearance. Here Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Watchdogs Legion impressed, says Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot in a statement.
The new lineup with the two titles and also Rainbow Six Quarantine and Gods&Monsters is one of the best lineups of the last 5 years.
Rainbow Six Siege represents the success of Ubisoft’s strategy
This is why Rainbow Six Siege is special: The shooter is from 2015 and was initially not a big success. However, Ubisoft worked hard on it and was able to improve it gradually and establish it more strongly, making it a game that is more relevant years after its release than at launch.
This only succeeds for a few games.
This concept of a “service game” has been seen by Ubisoft for years as a great strength because one supports a product for a long time and thus earns money with it for a long time. For Honor and The Division 1 are other examples that they were able to “get back on track” after a rough release.
Thus, Ubisoft can also have a good quarter if no new games are released. Here, Ubisoft sees itself as a pioneer, recognizing early a market trend and using it to its advantage: The so-called “backlog,” the already existing games, have become an important pillar for Ubisoft.
