Before the end of this fiscal year – which technically ends in March 2018 – Ubisoft is going to release four major AAA titles. You’re getting Far Cry 5, the delayed South Park: Fractured But Whole and the unexpected sequel, The Crew 2. Of course, there’s also a brand new Assassin’s Creed title too, but we already knew that right?
From the rumours, it’s looking likely that the next game will be called Assassin’s Creed Origins (or Empire) and be set in Egypt exploring the very first assassin’s guild. As for Far Cry 5, rumour has it that the game will be set in Montana.
“Over the last three fiscal years, Ubisoft has – with remarkable success – created numerous new brands and rebooted Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon,” said Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot. “These successes have strengthened our visibility for the coming two fiscal years, with a line-up of releases principally comprised of established franchises.
“In 2017-2108 we will see the exciting returns of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, The Crew and South Park. In 2018-2019, we intend to pursue our digital transformation and consolidate our new business model which is much more recurring and more profitable and is now significantly less exposed to new releases.”
The news of all four titles dropping in the next 12 months came via the company’s earnings call, where it also reported a 40% rise in operating income for the last financial year and a nice 5% bump in sales. Apparently one of the company’s biggest success stories has been Ghost Recon Wildlands, which Ubisoft is claiming is the best-selling game across the entire industry for 2017 so far.
Like other big games companies, Ubisoft saw digital purchases accounting for an even larger share of its sales figures. Last year, 50% of its sales were digital, compared to 32% the year before. No-one wants tonnes of game boxes hanging around their home anymore, apparently.
There are no release dates for any of these games as yet, but no doubt we’ll hear more at Ubisoft’s press conference on June 12 at E3 2017.