Ubisoft cancels Projects and delays Releases to focus on Success

In a recent earnings call, Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot, shared that the company had to cancel three announced projects and delay others due to a recent shift in their strategic planning. This shift was necessary because the studio had taken on an overwhelming amount of projects simultaneously, which put a strain on their resources and hindered their efficiency.

To address this issue, the company decided to re-focus its efforts on the most promising projects and reduce the number of concurrent tasks, thereby ensuring the successful completion of the prioritized projects.

According to a report by IGN, the CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot, stated that the company canceled some games to make room for other projects currently in development. This decision was made to ensure that the remaining projects could be completed efficiently without resource constraints.

Yves Guillemot is confident that the company has achieved the ideal number of games in development by re-prioritizing their efforts and canceling some projects. He anticipates that this approach will enable the successful completion of multiple games by 2024. The studio’s priority is now to focus on the projects progressing smoothly and expected to succeed in the market.

During an earnings call, Ubisoft’s CEO announced that the company plans to decrease the number of games in development over the next two years to focus on completing existing projects. While this will allow more resources and space for the ongoing development of these projects, Guillemot acknowledged that many of these games would require post-launch content.

To ensure that the post-launch content is created in a timely manner, specific teams and individuals with particular skills will need to be assigned to these tasks. Despite the reduction in the number of games being developed, Ubisoft remains committed to providing ongoing support and content for their existing titles, emphasizing the importance of maintaining player engagement and retention.

Recent reports have shed light on Ubisoft’s plans for the upcoming year. The company has already revealed a slate of games that has experienced multiple delays.

Additionally, Ubisoft has a significant, unannounced game in development. While it remains to be seen whether E3 2023 will take place, Ubisoft has stated its intent to attend the event and showcase its upcoming games and other possible releases. Interestingly, other major companies such as Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox have reportedly chosen not to attend E3’s first physical event since 2019.

Ubisoft’s stated aim of pivoting towards more live service games was reflected in their development of Project Q.

However, the studio needs a better track record in this area. Their previous forays into the live service gaming market have failed, with Hyper Scape failing to attract a substantial player base and being shut down. Additionally, their Ghost Recon battle royale game was canceled before the closed beta testing phase began. Given these past failures, it is still being determined how successful Ubisoft will be in creating and launching new live service games in the future.

Ubisoft recently shared that the release of Skull and Bones has been delayed for the fifth time, and it is now expected to arrive in early 2023-24. However, despite this news, players will soon have the chance to try the game in its beta testing phase.

The delay is attributed to the need for additional polishing, indicating that Ubisoft is committed to ensuring that Skull and Bones is a well-crafted and high-quality release. While the prolonged delay may disappoint fans, the development team appears dedicated to delivering an exceptional experience when the game ultimately launches.

However, the company has been receiving criticism over its workplace culture and the compensation of its employees, which could harm all of its games. Here’s a possible rephrased version: Despite apologizing for his comment, Ubisoft CEO Guillemot’s request for increased efficiency and cost-cutting led to a strike by the company’s Paris studio employees, highlighting ongoing concerns about the company’s internal culture that remain unaddressed. Therefore, the company must address these significant concerns before releasing its games.