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Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot has declared the current financial year is "a turning point" for the publisher after higher-than-expected Q4 sales.
The exec said the company’s decision to strengthen its core gamer offering, venture into free-to-play and grow its online revenues is paying off.
His comments follow today’s announcement of Fiscal Q3 sales amounting to €802m, driven by some major console successes. Most notably, Assassin’s Creed III broke series records and Far Cry 3 was the most critically acclaimed shooter of 2012.
DLC was also highlighted as a major growth driver, having increased four fold in the first nine months of the financial year.
The last quarter of the year will see the retail release of accalimed download game Trials Evolution, as well the title’s debut on PC. Ubisoft will also release Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes on iOS and begin the open beta for free-to-play strategy game Anno Online. Last month, it purchased the publishing rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth.
Guillemot added that Ubisoft’s market share has, for the first time, exceeded a tenth of both the United States and European games markets. The publisher dominated December in the UK.
"Fiscal 2012-13 is a real turning point for Ubisoft," Guillemot said in a financial statement.
"Our performance fully validates our long-term choices and the large-scale investments we have been undertaking for several years now, with a sharp ramp-up in games for core gamers and notably our strong comeback into the major segment of shooter games.
"Assassin’s Creed III has reported record-breaking sales of over 12m units and year after year is marking its position as one of the industry’s major franchises. We have also re-established Far Cry as one of the major pillars of our offering for core gamers, with Far Cry 3 the highest rated shooter of 2012 for Xbox 360 and winning the GameSpot People’s Choice Game of the Year award.
"We are now reaping the initial benefits of the two deep-seated transformation processes we have undertaken, namely the Lead and Associate structure for our creative studios, and internal development of our online expertise with versatile teams.
"In 2013-14, thanks to an even stronger offer for core gamers and continued robust momentum for free-to-play games and digital distribution, Ubisoft should continue to capitalize on these underlying trends and win new market share in both the retail and online channels.
"Consequently, in the next fiscal year we expect to see further growth in both sales and current operating income."
