Ubisoft Announces 2.9% Decline in Net Bookings

Oh wow, so get this—Ubisoft, you know, the French gaming behemoth that birthed your favorite assassin (yes, that one), is having a bit of a moment. Their net bookings took a little dive, 2.9% to be exact, for the quarter ending on June 30. Not huge but still, a dip’s a dip, right?

So, they pulled in €281.6 million. Do the math, that’s about $330.8 million. Why the slump, you ask? Well, seems like Rainbow Six: Siege didn’t quite hit the mark, and there was some team-up they planned for Q1 that slid right into the next quarter like an unplanned ice-skate maneuver. Whoops.

Now, before you think they’re spiraling, hold up. Their back catalogue sales? Killing it. We’re talking €260.4 million ($305.9 million) for the first quarter, which is a 4.4% bump from last year. Like, who doesn’t love a good nostalgia trip, I guess?

And here’s where things get kinda interesting—they’re restructuring. Creating something they call “Creative Houses.” Sounds snazzy, right? Basically, they’re splitting into these divisions. The first one’s already rolling, courtesy of their Tencent pals.

Yves Guillemot, the big cheese over there, talks about these Creative Houses like they’re the next best thing to sliced bread. He’s all about improving game quality and focus and whatnot. And hey, each house will boost creativity and business mojo over time. Or at least that’s the dream.

So anyway, the first of these houses is steering their iconic games—Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six. A new chapter or just tech buzzwords? Who knows? But this leadership team they’ve got now, it’s supposed to bring more agility (yeah, that buzzword) and stability. A kind of ride into the sunset moment, maybe?

Or not. Guess we’ll see if this new “model” really holds up. Fingers crossed? Sure, why not.