Ghost Recon: Breakpoint’s critical and financial performance have been “very disappointing” according to an Ubisoft report released today. Ubisoft released a statement revising financial targets to offer the bad news that the 2019-2020 fiscal year isn’t going to be so hot for the French developer/publisher. Worst of all is that net bookings are expected to end up at €1.45 billion, an admittedly large amount but a long way away from the anticipated €2.185 billion. Operating income has plummeted from an anticipated €480 million to just €20-50 million.
The drop off in sales is primarily due to the “very disappointing” reception of Ghost Recon: Breakpoint which launched in early September on PC and consoles. In addition, Ubisoft notes that development for Watch Dogs: Legion, Gods & Monsters, and Rainbow Six Quarantine will all be extended and will not be released until the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
“However, we have not capitalized on the potential of our latest two AAA releases. For Ghost Recon Breakpoint, while the game’s quality appeared on track – based on E3, Gamescom, previews and our latest internal playtests –, critical reception and sales during the game’s first weeks were very disappointing. As we have done with past titles, we will continue to support the game and listen to the community in order to deliver the necessary improvements.”
Breakpoint has been getting slammed by critics and the public since its launch last month. The game has seen a lot of backlash due to an extensive cash shop that appeared to get priority billing over the game itself which launched with severe bugs and performance issues. Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot does not address any of the criticisms in the press release, instead blaming the game’s subpar performance on difficulty generating interest for a sequel to a live service game, imperfect implementation of gameplay innovations (whatever that means), and not enough differentiation factors to stick out among the crowd.
“In this overall context, we have decided to postpone the releases of Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six Quarantine and Watch_Dogs Legion until 2020-21. While each of these games already has a strong identity and high potential, we want our teams to have more development time to ensure that their respective innovations are perfectly implemented so as to deliver optimal experiences for players. This decision will have a very significant impact on our financial results for this fiscal year and goes against our recent successes in building a more stable development model. However, it is in line with our strategy to maximize the future value of our brands for the long term benefit of our employees, players and shareholders. We expect it to have a positive impact on our financial performance as from 2020-21.”
Source: Ubisoft Press Release
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