author: Zuzanna Domeradzka
Ubisoft Announced When to Expect Release of Assassin's Creed Red
Ubisoft's new financial report includes a release window for Assassin's Creed: Red, which the company is targeting. The debut of Star Wars: Outlaws was also mentioned.
We have very limited information about the new release of the Assassin's Creed series, codenamed Red. Previous credible reports suggested that the game would be released in November 2024, and the latest financial report from Ubisoft may (or may not) confirm this date. The company is planning to launch "Assassin" set in feudal Japan in the 2025 fiscal year. The game therefore will be released between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.
Ubisoft usually releases "big" games from the Assassin's Creed series in the fall. In the past, they were most often released in October or November. This time, however, it may be different, as the company reported that AC: Red may be released even in the first months of 2025.
The report also mentioned a third-person Star Wars: Outlaws. While the exact release date of this game is still unknown, it's scheduled to launch before Assassinâ??s Creed: Red, in 2024. Ubisoft's plans reportedly aim for a premiere in May this year, but a delay cannot be ruled out, possibly until fall, given that AC: Red is set to be released later. Ubisoft has high expectations for their Star Wars game and refers to it as a "milestone in the industry."
[...] we're gearing up for a very promising line-up for fiscal year 2025, including the upcoming release of Star Wars Outlaws in 2024, which should be a major milestone in the video game industry, especially given the undeniable appeal of this legendary franchise that will be coming for the first time to the Open World territory.
How is Ubisoft doing?
In addition, the report included the company's financial performance for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2023-2024.
- The revenue from games, DLC, Ubisoft subscriptions, etc. for this period reached EUR 626.2 million, exceeding Ubisoft's expected EUR 610 million.
- The company's total income for the first nine months of the current fiscal year was 1.442 billion euros, marking a 4.1% decline compared to the previous year.
Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft, mentions that this was a strong quarter in terms of earnings for the company, primarily thanks to the revenue generated, which exceeded expectations. Guillemot emphasizes that the company's strong financial performance is attributed to the launches of Assassin's Creed: Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, despite The Crew: Motorfest, which was released in September, and older titles also performing well during this period.
Ubisoft doesn't want to invest in VR games
Ubisoft held a conference where interested parties could ask various questions in relation to the published report. Yves Guillemot stated that the company is dissatisfied with the sales of Assassin's Creed: Nexus, which was released in November on virtual reality devices (via VGC).
It did okay [ AC: Nexus sales], and it continues to sell, but we thought it would sell more [copies], so we are not increasing our investment on VR at the moment [...]. We continue to look at this VR business as something that we have to look at but not invest too much in, until it grows enough.
It's also interesting that when asked why Skull and Bones wouldn't be released as a free-to-play game, the CEO of Ubisoft replied that the game should be released at a price of $70 (the price of the standard edition of the game) due to its scale and ambitious development plans.
The highly anticipated GTA VI is also set to be released on the market in 2025. Guillemot believes that the release of this game won't have a negative impact on Ubisoft's upcoming games. He believes that such a significant premiere will boost the industry:
What we've seen in the past is each time there is a big release like GTA, there are more and more people coming back to the industry and that helps other games to sell as well.
