🎮 Ubisoft, once one of the most reliable hit-makers in the videogame industry is pinning its hopes on a five-word turnaround strategy: Everything old is new again. Looking to erase memories of a USD 177.9 mn loss in its 2024-2025 fiscal year, the France-headquartered game studio has unveiled a turnaround strategy that hinges on the release of a plethora of Assassin’s Creed titles, new and old, in ambitious numbers and on an arduous schedule.

Remember when everything Ubisoft touched turned to gold? It’s the studio that was responsible for Far Cry, Rainbow Six Siege, The Prince of Persia, and, most of all, Assassin’s Creed — the latter a franchise that has booked revenues of USD 4.2 bn on the sale of 200 mn copies.

That was then. The new face of Ubisoft is of a one-time powerhouse that has experienced a remarkable fall from grace: Sales during last year’s critical Christmas quarter were down 47.5% year-on-year. Ubisoft’s most recent release — Assassin’s Creed Shadows — has sold 2.4 mn copies since it was released four and a half months ago. That’s less than a quarter of the 10 mn copies Black Flag sold in its first three months on shelves.

What gives? Plenty of players think Ubisoft has cheated them. Where to begin. Maybe with the view that it has failed to deliver on gameplay promises — holding out hope of traditional gameplay, only for players to encounter fantasy mechanisms in recent games. Then there’s the feeling that it has offered “trend-centered games”. Recycled storylines and maps, diverged from base plots, and turned a blind eye to fan feedback — and to in-house scandals.

The question that fans and investors alike have been asking: Is there a road to recovery? Ubisoft thinks the road runs through the release of no fewer than nine Assassin’s Creed titles in the next four years. On the roadmap: A mobile game (Jade), two competitive multi-player games (Invictus and Emerald), three big-title-games (Hexe, Scarlet, and RPG3), and three remakes of past Assassin’s Creed titles (Obsidian, Stardust, and a still-untitled remake). (Obsidian is a remake of Black Flag — it’s unclear what the other titles will re-imagine.)

What does betting the house on AC tell us about Ubisoft’s intentions and future? What rings the loudest to us is not one, but three remakes of past games — and it’s not just about updating to a new Anvil engine. Fans have met every recent AC release with tidal waves of disgruntlement. Seen charitably, nine Assassin’s Creed titles represent a bid to rebuild the faith of the Assassin’s Creed fanbase.

What do the faithful want? Fan sites suggest plenty of players miss the old Assassin’s Creed formula and want more stealth, original storylines, and no “choose-your-own-adventure” template. Remaking three classic titles suggests that Ubisoft is becoming aware of these preferences — and that it’s become more open to feedback.

There are a couple of problems with the strategy. First, there may be format diversity (big-title RPGs, online multiplayers, and mobile games), but it all hinges on one franchise. And Ubisoft is already struggling to meet expectations: It has a history of delaying title releases and its current roadmap juggles games of multiple genres and magnitudes. There’s real risk of overexertion here, with so many different games in a narrow window of time raising questions about quality and heart. (If Ubisoft is so insistent on returning to its roots, why push out a whole new Fall Guy-inspired platform, some might ask?). A course-correction that mollifies long-time players would be welcome — but it will ring hollow if it proves a sales-driven bid to cling to past roots while paying lip service to diversification.

The bottom line: Ubisoft’s future hinges on its ability to launch these titles with quality — and on time. As fans of Ubisoft and of Assassin’s Creed, we’re taking the news with a gigabyte of salt. A new direction and fresh projects — whether it’s a revamp of the past or forging entirely new franchises — may be exactly what Ubisoft and its loyal legions need.

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