Ubisoft’s downward slide continues: share price falls into single digits
In 2018, a share of the French video game giant Ubisoft was worth almost 100 euros. Figures that owners of the securities can only dream of today. Currently, a share in the developer and publisher is worth around ten euros. A low point for the brand owner of Assassins Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs and Anno, whose company valuation has fallen from around 10 billion euros to just over one billion euros in the last two years.
Ubisoft fights to stay in the black
The reason for the drastic decline is a series of failures, the most recent example of which is the postponement of the hotly anticipated Assassin’s Creed spin-off “Shadows”. After Ubisoft announced the delay of the release on September 25, the share price finally collapsed. The following day, it even fell into single digits. Not least because the group corrected its revenue and profit forecasts downwards due to the lack of Christmas business with the game, which was also announced as a PS5 Pro launch title. To a “break-even” level that covers its own expenses – if at all.
How is the company’s management reacting?
Ubisoft has not yet decided on any concrete measures to escape the ongoing negative spiral. However, a look at the number of employees suggests where the company could start in Saint-Mandé. After all, according to its own website, the group employs around 20,000 people. By comparison, according to its March 2024 annual report, US competitor Electronic Arts has only 13,700 employees.
The downturn that Ubisoft is experiencing could also have a direct impact on the German games market. After all, according to research by GamesWirtschaft, the company is one of the largest video game employers in Germany. The magazine lists almost 900 employees. This would put Ubisoft in second place nationally, behind Nintendo, with studios in Berlin, Mainz and Düsseldorf. Will it stay that way in the future?
The fact is, Ubisoft should avoid further titles that fall short of expectations, such as Star Wars Outlaws, Skull and Bones or Xdefiant. Which is why the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, now scheduled for February 14, could be even more hotly anticipated internally than by fans of the series.
