Ubisoft announces H1 earnings “ahead of expectations”, confirms Tencent deal to close “in coming days”

Ubisoft has announced H1 earnings “ahead of expectations” and confirmed it is on track to close its €1.16 billion partnership deal with Tencent.

It follows a week of speculation triggered by the formal delay of Ubisoft’s earnings results and a corresponding halt in share trading. That delay was due to a restatement of earnings for FY2024-2025. “This position now applied by the Group going forward has also resulted in a partnership signed in Q2 FY2025-26 not being recognized in IFRS15 revenues,” the company said.

Notably, the company released its results under both International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rules and non-IFRS rules.

The numbers

For the first half of FY2025-26:

• Overall net bookings: €772.4 million (up 20.3% year-on-year)
• Digital net bookings: €685.8 million (up 30.2% year-on-year)
• Back-catalogue net bookings: €741.4 million (up 50% year-on-year)
• IFRS operating income: -€120.2 million (vs -€271.8 million YoY)
• Non-IFRS operating income: €27.1 million (vs -€252.1 million YoY)
• IFRS operating net income: -€161.3 million (vs -€246.5 million YoY)
• Non-IFRS operating net income: -€37.0 million (vs -€208.1 million YoY)

The highlights

The H2 performance was attributed to “stronger-than-expected partnerships” along with strong performance of Assassin’s Creed and The Division, which offset a “soft” performance of Rainbow Six.

The company said that the launch of Tencent-funded subsidiary Vantage Studios is “imminent” and “all conditions precedent have been satisfied.” Vantage will own the company’s prime brands of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six, and will be 25% owned by Tencent in exchange for a €1.16 billion cash infusion which will be used to pay down Ubisoft’s net debt, which currently stands at €1.15 billion. Ubisoft announced the partnership with Tencent in March.

The creation of Vantage is the first part of Ubisoft’s reorganization into Creative Houses, described by CEO Yves Guillemot as “autonomous, efficient, focused and accountable business units, each with its own leadership, creative vision and strategic roadmap.” The remaining Creative Houses will be announced in January 2026, the company said.

Ubisoft described its cost reduction process as “on track,” and the company is targeting an additional €100 million in fixed cost savings for Y2026-27 versus FY2024-25 thanks to restructuring and “continued discipline in recruitment”. The release mentions cutbacks in Nordic studios, referring to previously announced job losses at RedLynx and Massive Entertainment.

The company’s global headcount was listed as 17,097 at the end of September 2025, reflecting a drop of 1,500 employees in the past 12 months. Since the end of March 2025, 700 jobs have been cut.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was described as “overperforming,” along with the Assassin’s Creed back catalogue. The company cited an increase in player “session days” over a two-year average, driven by DLC for Shadows and a free update for Assassin’s Creed Mirage lifting the game’s total players to 10 million. Rainbow Six, meanwhile, missed revenue expectations due to “a temporary surge in cheating,” which the company said is being addressed. It also pointed to a strong debut of Netflix show Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and positive reviews for Anno 117: Pax Romana driving “solid consumer spending growth” over the first week on sale.

“Our portfolio showed contrasting dynamics this quarter,” said Guillemot, “with softer trends for Rainbow Six Siege, reflecting a phase of evolution for the game in an intense FPS environment, offset by strong performances across the rest of the catalog. The Assassin’s Creed franchise exceeded our expectations, confirming its positive momentum and ability to engage players over time. The Division 2 also continued to perform strongly, benefiting from the momentum of the Battle for Brooklyn DLC, with the game’s first semester already exceeding last year’s annual bookings.”

In July, the company announced that earnings for Q2 2025 were below expectations, and said that it would be reorganising the business into Creative Houses. Earlier this week, the company’s UK office warned of a drop in annual revenue, attributed to declining sales of new games as consumers spent more time on service titles.

Ubisoft’s share price has plunged in the last five years, from a pandemic high of almost €85 to €6.77 yesterday, driven in part by the post-pandemic downturn that has impacted investment across the games industry. The company is currently heavily indebted, although the Tencent infusion is expected to enable it to repay two loans early and “initiate discussions with banking partners” about financing its new structure.

“The progress we’ve made in addressing our fixed cost base brings with it confidence that we can continue to drive structural efficiencies across the organization that, together with top line growth, will contribute to ensure a return to strong cash generation in the coming years,” said Guillemot in the earnings release.