Ubisoft is planning to focus more on “high-end free-to-play” games, according to the publisher’s CFO.
The company’s shift in strategy was announced during its full-year earnings call on Tuesday (May 11). During the call, Ubisoft’s chief financial officer Frederick Duguet stated it needs to rely less on “AAA” releases [via VGC]:
“In line with the evolution of our high-quality line-up that is increasingly diverse, we are moving on from our prior comment regarding releasing 3-4 premium AAAs per year. It is indeed no longer a proper indication of our value creation dynamics. For example, our expectation for Just Dance and Riders Republic are consistent with some of the industry’s AAA performers”
The CFO then added that the publisher intends to create more free-to-play games as part of its yearly line up:
“Additionally, we are building high-end free-to-play games to be trending towards AAA ambitions over the long-term. This is purely a financial communication evolution and doesn’t change the fact that we continue to expect a high cadence of content delivery including powerful premium and free-to-play new releases.”
Ubisoft’s comments follow the announcement of Tom Clancy’s The Division: Heartland, a new standalone free-to-play experience. Referring to Heartland’s announcement, Duguet stated during the call that the game would help grow the franchise’s audience:
“In terms of Heartland, the way we think about building the audience reach growth for our biggest franchises, so starting with The Division, is to come with high-quality free-to-play games.”
Duguet also confirmed that Ubisoft’s current fiscal year schedule includes Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine. However, the company apparently has no big-budget plans for the second half of the year. The publisher has also delayed its upcoming pirate game Skull & Bones till 2022.
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Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft