(Reuters) – French video game maker Ubisoft revised its full-year outlook on Tuesday after posting record-high third-quarter net bookings, beating its own expectations.
The maker of blockbuster gaming franchise Assassin’s Creed now sees net bookings of 2.22-2.28 billion euros ($2.69 billion-$2.76 billion), and operating income between 450-500 million euros for its 2020-21 fiscal year, compared with previous forecasts of 2.20-2.35 billion euros, and 420 million-520 million euros range respectively.
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to stay at home, boosting demand for games, it has also caused delays in the development of new ones, leading Ubisoft in October to delay the releases of Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine into its next fiscal year.
The company’s net bookings for the third quarter came in at a record high 1.00 billion euros, up 119.7% from a year ago, beating its own target of 860-960 million euros.
“The quarter was marked by the success of Just Dance 2021 and excellent reviews for Immortal Fenix Rising and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla,” chief financial officer Frederick Duguet said in a statement.
Duguet added that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, set in the Vikings’ era, delivered record sales and ranked among the top four best sellers on the new generation consoles.
($1 = 0.8264 euros)
(Reporting by Charles Regnier, Enrico Sciacovelli; Editing by Jane Merriman and Dan Grebler)
