Ubisoft CFO Frédérick Duguet said it expects Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced to “deliver superior financial performance” due to lower production costs.
However, Ubisoft does not plan to raise its Q2 guidance, citing a “strong competitive lineup” and the release of its own titles, including the Rayman Legends Retold remake.
During an earnings call following its recent financial results, Duguet elaborated on Black Flag Resynced’s success, noting it was expected to perform well from the outset given the advantages of producing remakes.
“Usually for remakes that are ambitious, you have a reuse of the existing assets of the original experience, but you also come with additional gameplay and features – that still comes with investments. But of course, the overall budget is not as high as the original estimate.
“You also benefit from the awareness of the game, so you can come with lower marketing, but you don’t have the same price as a full game.”
Duguet: “It’s really a different economic profile, but we expect this one to deliver superior financial performance. We should expect the direct contribution to be positive as soon as this current quarter in cumulative terms.”
When asked during the Q&A if the upcoming Rayman remake could achieve similar success, Duguet did not comment directly.
Instead, he stated it would “attract a whole new generation of players.”
“We’re coming in with a revamped and improved experience, while sticking to the original DNA of Rayman, but with additional gameplay features, a broader scope and a full revamp in 3D.
“We believe long-time fans will be very happy to rediscover an improved version of the original experience, and we should be attracting a whole new generation of players.”
Elsewhere in the call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot commented on Sony’s decision to discontinue physical discs for new PlayStation games.
When asked if Ubisoft is concerned that this decision could “prevent gamers from recycling games to the used game market, then using that to purchase new games,” he responded:
“What we saw on the PC is that it helped to grow the market. There’s also some pressure on the future cost of machines, and being able to be only digital will help make the machine more accessible.
“There are pluses and minuses, but we think it will not disturb the industry too much.”