After job cuts: Ubisoft wants to save more money
Ubisoft sees its austerity measures as a success – and wants to cut further costs. Meanwhile, games are to be given more development time.
(Image: Ubisoft)
Ubisoft wants to save more money. The French publisher announced this in its latest financial report. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was quoted in the report as saying that the company is already well on track with its savings plan. The aim is to save at least an additional 100 million euros over the next two years in order to become more efficient and strengthen the "foundation of our organization".
It is not clear from the report where exactly these 100 million euros are to be saved. Previous savings have also come from job cuts: In January, Ubisoft had closed its studio in Leamington. Employees also had to go at Ubisoft DĂĽsseldorf, formerly Blue Byte. Additional jobs were cut at Ubisoft Stockholm and Ubisoft Reflections in Newcastle. A total of 185 people were affected, including 65 at Ubisoft DĂĽsseldorf. Ubisoft has saved 200 million euros for the past financial year.
More time leads to more quality
Meanwhile, the French publisher has had good experiences with the strategy of giving its developers a little more time: after several titles such as "Skull & Bones", "The Settlers" and "Star Wars Outlaws" were launched on the market in poor condition and failed to meet financial expectations, Ubisoft considers the performance of "Assassin's Creed Shadows" to be a success.
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The latest offshoot of the "Assassin's Creed" series was pushed back in response to the botched market launch of "Star Wars Outlaws" in order to give developers more time. "This decision has had a positive impact on the quality of 'Assassin's Creed Shadows'," writes Ubisoft in its financial report.
"After a thorough review of the pipeline, the Group has decided to grant additional development time to some of its largest productions in order to create the best conditions for success," writes Ubisoft in the report. According to Insider Gaming, this concerns the internal development plans for the next "Assassin's Creed" game and the upcoming "Far Cry" spin-off. Neither title has yet been announced.
(dahe)
