Ubisoft stock dives after games underperform and titles delayed

Ubisoft stock fell the most in six years after the company said its latest AAA games had underperformed and it delayed the launch of three upcoming titles from its current fiscal year.

The publisher said on Thursday that The Division 2 and Ghost Recon Breakpoint, released in March and October respectively, failed to meet expectations. The former underperformed at retail, while Breakpoint’s “critical reception and sales during the game’s first weeks were very disappointing”, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said.

The company also delayed Watch Dogs Legion, Gods & Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine from early 2020 to July-December next year, when they’ll be “optimised for the next generation of consoles”, according to Ubisoft CFO Frédérick Duguet.

Guillemot said: “This decision will have a very significant impact on our financial results for this fiscal year and goes against our recent successes in building a more stable development model.”

Ubisoft cut its outlook for full-year net bookings from €2.19 billion to €1.45 billion ($1.61 billion), and its operating income forecast from €480 million to €20-50 million.

Following the announcements, the publisher’s stock fell as much as 29% in Paris, Bloomberg reports. Shares of Ubisoft were down 22% to €43.80 by 9.57am in Paris on Friday.

On Thursday’s conference call, Guillemot outlined why the company’s recent releases have underperformed and told shareholders it’s already made changes to “improve execution”.