Ubisoft shares tank on Assassin's Creed delay, bookings forecast cut

Shares in Ubisoft tanked on Thursday after the French videogame maker delayed the release of its Assassin's Creed Shadows edition by three months to next February and cut net bookings guidance.

Ubisoft guided for net bookings to hit €1.95bnin the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Second quarter net bookings were forecast to fall to €350m - 370m, compared with previous guidance of €500m. Share in the company were down 20% in European trade having already fallen sharply after the release of its Star Wars Outlaws game received a less than enthusiastic reception.

"Beyond the first important short-term actions undertaken, the executive committee, is launching a review aimed at further improving our execution," said chief executive Yves Guillemot in a statement.

Meanwhile, an activist investor pushing for a sale of Ubisoft had reportedly gathered support from 10% of the French videogame publisher's shareholders.

AJ Investments, which has less than 1% stake in Ubisoft, said it was in talks with private equity firms for its push.

"We call on the management of Ubisoft to allow the sale of the company to third parties or private equity firms at a fair price," the Slovakia-based activist investor said in a letter, which had been seen by the Reuters news agency.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com