Ubisoft is one of the top companies in the video game world, even if it is going through a rough patch in recent times. It is not quite the powerhouse it was in the last decade, when its world-conquering Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed franchises – plus others like the Tom Clancy series – were rock-solid hits which attracted millions of players… Nowadays, its recent games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and the pirate-themed Skull & Bones have failed to set the world alight.
Ubisoft, though, may have an ace up its sleeve, as it’s planning to remake some of the top games in its portfolio. This started with the release of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced in early July, a remake of the 2013 Black Flag game which brought the Assassin’s Creed series to the salty waters of the Caribbean and the “golden age of piracy”. The game is a fan favorite for sure, so it’s not surprising the remake has sold very well since it was released in early July, something Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot spoke of in the company’s latest financial report.
“Two weeks in, the title has already exceeded the annual expectations we had. I would like to warmly thank the teams whose talent and dedication brought it to life. This launch illustrates the enduring appeal of the Assassin’s Creed brand”, said Guillemot (via GamesRadar).
The game has sold a whopping 3.5 million copies since its launch about 2 weeks ago, these numbers exceeding Ubisoft’s expectations for the entire year already as Guillemot mentions. Ubisoft’s CEO also referred to the company’s restructuring, saying the game’s performance shows “the early benefits of our ongoing transformation”. Sadly, though, this has cost many game developers their jobs, even some who helped make the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake a success this year.
For gamers, though, the success of this Black Flag remake surely is good news, as this means Ubisoft will be jumping on the remake bandwagon like other companies such as Capcom have done, with an Assassin’s Creed 1 remake likely in the pipeline now.
Because releasing high-quality remakes of great games from the past surely is a lower risk alternative to developing new, original IPs which can take years and tons of money to make and end up being failures like Ubisoft’s own Skull & Bones was.
This is something that an analyst of Alinea Analytics has pointed out.
“High-fidelity remakes of beloved legacy titles are the low-risk alternative – and one Ubi hasn’t really leveraged much yet. Such remakes reuse a universally praised design blueprint, lowering creative risk while guaranteeing a built-in audience”, said Rhys Elliot of Alinea Analytics. And it is worth noting Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s pre-orders even exceeded Skull & Bones lifetime sales, so Ubisoft won’t hesitate to deliver more remakes in the future.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has been a huge hit for Ubisoft this summer.
Beside Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s sales and its success this year, Ubisoft also mentioned that it made more than expected (€256 million in net bookings) in the quarter, while Ubisoft CEO Guillemot also touched on the subject of physical game media and Sony’s decision to kill discs this year.
“What we saw on the PC is that it helped to grow the market”, said Guillemot (via PC Gamer) during the company’s quarterly investor’s call.
Presumably referring to Steam’s huge success on PC, Ubisoft’s CEO is right that the end of physical media won’t be an industry killer. Actually, gamers shouldn’t be surprised by Sony’s decision, as we covered in an earlier article.
Going digital-only and doing away with discs and optical drives could lead to less expensive consoles too. “There’s also some pressure for the future on the cost of machines, and being able to be only digital will help to have more accessible machines”, said the Ubisoft man. Of course, an overpriced PS6 (when it comes out in the future) might lead to lost sales for Sony, so it’s unlikely this will be the first 4-figure console and sell for $1000 US dollars when it arrives in the future…
What’s clear, though, is Ubisoft and its CEO Yves Guillemot must be pretty pleased with how strong Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced sales have been, with more Assassin’s Creed remakes surely in the works for gamers to enjoy in the future, while this could also be the start of a new golden age for Ubisoft after the last few years have not been kind to the iconic French video game company.
Ubisoft logo (Ubisoft Entertainment)
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (Ubisoft Singapore)