It seems to be quite a time of change for one of the biggest and most prolific game publishers, Ubisoft. Earlier in the year came reports that the company would be focusing more on free-to-play titles with some scaling back on the amount of AAA ‘premium’ paid titles. We’re starting to see some of that strategy already, such as the announcement of the recent F2P shooter, Tom Clancy’s XDefiant. But the company wants you to know that the majority of their investments are still with the big premium titles.
As reported and detailed by VGC, in the most recent earning calls from Ubisoft, CEO Yves Guillemot reassured that the majority of the focus remains on paid premium titles. He said that the split was roughly 80% in favor of said titles, with only 20% focusing on these new free-to-play ventures. Guillemot compared these ventures into similar business decisions made in the past to get into new market that has lead the company to the major success it has had.
“Our new investment phase, initiated two years ago, is the natural evolution of our commitment to build quality and depth in our portfolio to the benefits of our players. This will ultimately lead to bigger audiences and more recurring revenues.
“First, around 80% of our current investments are targeted at significantly expanding our premium offering by growing our biggest existing franchises, by building new IPs with a focus on player engagement and social interaction, and by adding blockbuster license entertainment brands to our portfolio.
“Second, around 20% of our current investments are targeted at free-to-play, to expand our brands’ universes and bring them to a wider audience across all platforms including mobile, across all geographies including emerging markets, and with multiplayer titles designed to be evergreen.”
Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, the most recently announced title in Ubisoft’s free-to-play initiative, will have a closed beta on August 5th. The next paid game the company will release is Far Cry 6, which will launch October 7th.
