Ubisoft’s leadership is openly critical of where the games industry is heading, arguing that players are trying fewer new titles and sticking with the same games for longer, which makes it increasingly difficult for fresh releases to stand out and, in the company’s view, points to trouble for its own future.

There is no doubt that the video game industry has changed dramatically in recent years. The rise of games as a service has reshaped the way players consume digital entertainment, and major publishers have not ignored that shift. Many of them have thrown themselves into a relentless, and sometimes fruitless, hunt for a new “golden goose” in the form of GaaS projects that can churn out revenue over long periods of time. Ubisoft has been part of this chase as well, with success stories like The Division 2 and other titles that quietly faded away, such as XDefiant. At the same time, the company is now openly admitting that launching traditional, one-and-done releases has become much harder.

Ubisoft UK’s publishing division addressed this topic in a strategic report on the current fiscal year, as reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, warning of a potential drop in income from game sales during the financial period that runs until March 2026. According to the document, the classic model of selling a single “full game” to a customer for 50-60 pounds as a one-off purchase is steadily losing ground, while multi-title subscription services, long-running games as a service, free-to-play releases and cloud streaming options are offering more attractive ways to access game content.

The report goes on to say that “customers are playing fewer games, playing those titles for longer periods, and as a result, aside from a few notable exceptions, many new games are struggling to stand out and achieve the sales figures they once had, while the market is more volatile and the potential for any specific title is less predictable.” It also notes that, because Ubisoft is planning a slimmer schedule of physical launches for the coming year, Ubisoft Limited expects a decline in revenue in fiscal year 2026.

In fact, the publisher made headlines just a few days ago precisely because it has abruptly changed its long-standing strategy in order to secure a stronger foothold in the games as a service market. According to Bloomberg, the team had been working on a project that could easily have turned into a new Splinter Cell, but pressure from upper management to channel more investment into GaaS ultimately led to that concept being scrapped in favor of something closer to a Call of Duty-style experience. That project eventually morphed into XDefiant, whose servers were shut down only a year after launch.

Trouble At Ubisoft? The Company Even Asked To Halt Share Trading

Everything suggests that Ubisoft is about to become a central figure in industry news again, and not because of an imminent game release. The company has decided to postpone the presentation of its latest financial results, and at the same time has asked the authorities to temporarily halt trading of its shares. A move of this kind is extremely rare in the sector, and it is usually seen as a prelude to some major announcement.

It is also worth remembering that Ubisoft is currently going through one of the most delicate periods in its history. A string of questionable decisions, alongside the release of games that have failed to live up to players’ expectations, has left the French publisher in a fragile internal position. In this context, Ubisoft has partnered with Tencent to establish a subsidiary focused exclusively on three of its most important IPs: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. Given its recent request to halt share trading, many observers believe that the company’s next step could dramatically reshape Ubisoft’s future.

Source: 3djuegos