AAA game developer Ubisoft has reported strong financial earnings and is not planning to reduce its workforce.
During an earnings call with investors, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reported that the company performed exceptionally well for the third quarter. He also remarked that due to Ubisoft’s strong third quarter that there are no plans to begin cost-cutting measures that include employees being laid off.
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The company’s net bookings for the first nine months of this fiscal year are up by 13.5%. After being challenged by formidable competitors such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Spider-Man last year much of that success is owed to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Far Cry 5 having such strong sales. The success of those two titles also contributed to a 58.1% increase in Ubisoft’s PC business over the last year.
As a result of this news Guillemot suggested that the mega-publisher should increase its workforce instead of reducing it and that the company should do its utmost to make them happy. He stated that, “Ubisoft is building its organizational structure for the long term,” he added in a statement. “Leveraging the ownership of our IPs and studios, we are striving to provide a fulfilling working environment so that our talented people can realize their full potential and to deliver players beneficial experiences that go beyond pure entertainment. Therefore, we are confident in our ability to continue to grow and increase our profitability over the coming years.”
The earnings call also highlighted details surrounding the company’s exclusive distribution deal with the Epic’s game store. While the PC version of The Division 2 may only be available on Epic’s game store the highly anticipated looter-shooter title has already exceeded preorder expectations set by the first game. Ubisoft was unable to comment on whether they were currently in the process of developing their own battle royale title in the wake of the success of Fortnite and Apex Legends. They confirmed that they intend to release three or four AAA titles by March 2020, but it is not currently known what they will all be. Presently, the only ones that are likely to be released are Skull & Bones and Watch Dogs 3 based on recent trademark filings.
The news that Ubisoft intends to expand its workforce comes on the heels of the recent announcement that Call of Duty publisher Activision had decided to lay off 800 of its employees as a cost-cutting measure earlier this week despite reporting record earnings. The announcement came following news that the publisher had given their new Chief Financial Officer a $15 million sign-on bonus.
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