Ubisoft has published its financial report for the first half of the 2022 fiscal year, covering the period April to September.
The company saw a strong second quarter (July-September) with bookings reaching $404 million, representing a 3.6 percent year-on-year increase. Part of this increase is attributed to the strong performance of games in the company’s back catalogue, with the prime factor being the “faster revenue recognition phasing for the mobile licensing partnership.”
The company is on track to reach its goals for the fiscal year, targeting a $398 million non-IFRS operating income and significant growth in net bookings.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is cited as a particularly strong performer in the period, and the company will continue to build upon its success through an ambitious marketing plan with material support from Nintendo. Ubisoft CFO Frédérick Duguet said. “On top of this and other upcoming releases and content updates, a key contributor will be our mobile licensing partnership,”
Mobile is key to the company’s success
As part of the mobile licensing partnership, Ubisoft are increasing their efforts to bring more established AAA franchises to mobile devices, including the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Codename Jade.
The company has high hopes for Rainbow Six Mobile, which achieved 250 thousand players during its closed beta. The game has seen high retention KPI’s, and it is projected that the game will help the company expand further into mobile-first markets, such as India. The company is currently preparing a soft launch of the title on both iOS and Android and markets which will help the company prepare the game to scale.
Earlier this year, Chinese tech giant Tencent acquired 49.9 percent of Ubisoft parent company Guillemot Bros for $300 million. The statement states that this transaction “highlights the strong intrinsic value of the assets we have built over the long term and reflects Tencent’s confidence in Ubisoft’s potential in bringing its biggest IPs to mobile.”
In September, we listed Tencent as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022.