Ubisoft reported net bookings of €772.4 million, up 20.3% from a year ago, for the first half of 2026 fiscal year. It also said the Tencent transaction is on track to close in the coming days and all conditions have been met for it.
Update: Ubisoft said it completed the Tencent deal.
The company said that Q2 net bookings exceeded expectations, reaching €490.8 million, versus guidance of €450 million and up 39% from the same quarter a year earlier.
The outperformance was driven by stronger-than-expected partnerships and was supported by a robust back-catalog, both highlighting the strength of the group’s brands, the company said.
Ubisoft was set to report its financials earlier this month but delayed that announcement and halted its trading until today, as now trading has resumed. Tencent is in the midst of investing €1.16 billion in a subsidiary, Vantage Studios, that includes Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six, Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed intellectual properties and the teams building them.
Continued progress on group transformation
Ubisoft said the transaction with Tencent is on track to close in the coming days. All conditions precedent have been satisfied. At closing, the €1.16 billion investment will deleverage the group. It will also enable the acceleration of Vantage Studios’ IP growth, support selected investment opportunities across the rest of the group, and facilitate ongoing reorganization efforts.
The design of the group’s new operating model built around Creative Houses with the objective of fostering stronger creative vision, greater focus, efficiency, autonomy and accountability will be finalized by year end with full details unveiled in January 2026.
The Group’s cost reduction program is on track, targeting at least €100m in additional fixed cost savings by FY2026-27 vs. FY2024-25, supported by targeted restructurings and continued discipline in recruitment.
Group deleveraging: The non-IFRS net debt position of €1.15 billion at end September comes with a cash and cash equivalent position of €668 million. The €1.16 billion in proceeds from the Tencent transaction will enable to deleverage the group, and notably the early repayment of the Term Loan and Schuldschein loans, which have an outstanding principal amount of approximately €286 million.
FY2025-26 line-up
Anno 117: Pax Romana launched on November 13 with a Metacritic rating of 85. The Assassin’s Creed Mirage Valley of Memory update launched on November 18. Avatar Frontiers of Pandora: From the Ashes expansion will release on December 19, coinciding with the new movie.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, Rainbow Six Mobile, The Division Resurgence and an unannounced title are planned for Q4.
FY2025-26 targets have been confirmed. Splinter Cell: Deathwatch premiered on October 14, obtaining an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes and landing in Netflix’s daily Top 10 across more than 12 countries, including six consecutive days in the U.S.
Yves speaks
Yves Guillemot, CEO of Paris-based Ubisoft, said in a statement, “The closing of our strategic transaction with Tencent – which will see Tencent become a minority shareholder in our new subsidiary, Vantage Studios – is now imminent, as all conditions precedent have been satisfied.”
He added, “This marks a pivotal milestone in Ubisoft’s transformation, significantly strengthening our financial position by bringing in €1.16 billion of cash, enabling the Group to deleverage, as planned. It will also empower Vantage Studios to accelerate the growth of our three flagship IPs under a dedicated leadership team.”
He continued, “In a highly competitive market, Ubisoft delivered net bookings above guidance, on the back of stronger-than-expected partnerships that underscore the appeal and reach of our brands. Our portfolio showed contrasting dynamics this quarter, 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.”
And he said, “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. Additionally, 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.”
Guillemot said Vantage Studios represents a key element of the transformation of the company towards a new operating model built around Creative Houses.
“We will have finalized the design of this new organization by the end of the year. These Creative Houses will be autonomous, efficient, focused and accountable business units, each with its own leadership, creative vision and strategic roadmap. This Group-wide transformation reflects our ambition to renew how we create and operate in order to deliver great games for our players and lasting value for our partners and shareholders. The full details of this new operating model will be unveiled in January,” Guillemot said.
Q2/H1 Activity
Net bookings stood at €491 million this quarter, above guidance and up 39% year-on-year. The outperformance was driven by stronger-than-expected partnerships, demonstrating the power
and attractiveness of the Group’s portfolio as well as the meaningful contribution from live TV and animated series. Excluding partnerships, overall back-catalog this quarter was robust and in line with expectations, broadly stable year-on-year, but marked by contrasted dynamics.
Overall, net bookings for the semester stood at €772 million, up 20% year-on-year, with 34
million MAUs and 88 million unique users across consoles and PC, slightly down while excluding XDefiant from the base.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise posted a strong performance in Q2, with both Assassin’s
Creed Shadows and the rest of the brand’s catalog overperforming. In the year to date, Assassin’s Creed has generated 211 million session days, ~35% higher than the last two years’ average.
Shadows benefitted from the launch of the New Game+ mode, which was widely anticipated by the community and introduced greater difficulty and new challenges for players.
The Claws of Awaji expansion released on September 16 and contributed to re-engaging players. It was praised as a solid addition to the base game, offering new unique boss fights in a beautiful and dark atmosphere. Looking ahead, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will reach a broader audience with its launch on the Nintendo Switch 2 on December 2. Beyond Shadows, the rest of the Assassin’s Creed back-catalog also performed strongly, highlighting the strength of the franchise.
Turning to the current quarter, on November 18 launched Valley of Memory, a free major update for Assassin’s Creed Mirage which brought new content and a fresh chapter in Basim’s story set in AlUla. First feedback from the community is very positive, with player
activity on Assassin’s Creed Mirage doubling following the launch of the update, enabling the game to reach the 10 million player mark.
In a highly competitive FPS market, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege continued to attract new players this quarter, with acquisition levels twice as high year-on-year, and sustain activity levels, with unique players stable quarter-on-quarter and up double-digit year-on-year. Session Days and Playtime also increased both sequentially and year-on-year.
Rainbow Six Siege cheating
However, as part of the evolution of Siege and its move to free access, a temporary surge in cheating has impacted activity and player spending versus expectations. With additional resources now in place and further hires planned, the team has identified the main issues and is actively addressing them with a robust plan.
Having focused most of this year on establishing a new foundation for the game, the team is exploring a new seasonal approach that introduces multiple updates throughout each season, focusing on the core gameplay experience and heavily engaged players. This shift is designed to offer a steadier stream of fresh experiences with more variety, keeping players engaged and supporting long-term franchise growth.
The Siege community remains highly engaged and passionate about the game’s success. The development team is equally committed to working closely with players to address recent feedback, with a strong focus on anti-cheat measures and gameplay balance.
As announced at the Munich Major on November 16, starting in Season 4, the team will double the number of anti-cheat updates per week and introduce new prevention solutions. On the balancing front, the team is accelerating efforts in Season 4, with four balancing updates per season planned for Year 11, aligned with the new content cadence. To celebrate Siege’s 10-year anniversary in December, players can look forward to daily rewards and a special in-game event launching mid-December.
The Division 2 continued to benefit from the momentum of the Battle for Brooklyn DLC release in May, as well as regular content updates, continuing to attract new players to the
game. Along with rising player numbers, player engagement is up, with a record second quarter in terms of Session Days since FY2020-21. The game’s performance this semester has already exceeded last year’s annual net bookings.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora posted a strong performance this quarter on the back of the July third person update announcement, available for free for all players on December 5, that was widely anticipated by the community. The game also regained momentum with the announcement of the From the Ashes expansion.
Star Wars Outlaws launched on Nintendo Switch 2 in September to strong critical and player reception. The release expanded the game’s audience and was praised for its exceptional visuals, technical optimization, smooth performance and seamless transition to Nintendo’s new hardware.
Q3
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, the animated Netflix series that premiered on October 14, delivered strong global engagement, landing in Netflix’s daily Top 10 across more than 12 countries, including six consecutive days in the U.S., reflecting the franchise’s strong appeal. With an 86% Rotten Tomatoes score, the show has been praised for its animation quality, cinematic action sequences, and faithfulness to the franchise’s universe and timeline.
Its renewal for a second season supports the long-term strategy to deepen engagement
through cross-media partnerships, extending the reach of Ubisoft’s iconic gaming IPs across games, publishing, and screen adaptations. This strengthens the brand’s long-term value ahead of the Splinter Cell remake currently in development at the Ubisoft Toronto studio.
Anno 117: Pax Romana launched on November 13 and marks a bold new chapter for the
Anno franchise. Building on the series’ strong momentum and releasing simultaneously for the first time on PC and console, it showcases impressive scale, striking visual fidelity and a deep economic simulation. The title had already received strong industry recognition — including winning “Best PC Game” at Gamescom – and has now launched to strong critical reception with an 85 Metacritic score, the best score ever in the franchise, which translates into solid consumer spending growth after one week compared to the successful Anno 1800. IGN awarded it a 9/10, calling it “A gorgeous antique city-builder that is worthy of a standing ovation.”
For the first time in the series, players can choose their starting province, each defined by distinct cultural identities and unique gameplay mechanics that emphasize player choice. These innovations expand the game’s depth and replayability, laying the foundations for sustained player engagement and a rich post-launch experience.
The Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From The Ashes expansion is set to launch in December, timed to coincide with the theatrical release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, this bold expansion sees players embark on the journey of So’lek, a battle-hardened Na’vi warrior who seeks revenge against the ruthless Ash clan. The expansion introduces new visceral gameplay set in a ravaged Kinglor Forest and unveils a new sub-region known as The Ravines.
Ubisoft said the group’s transformation is progressing well. Closing of the announced transaction with Tencent is coming .All conditions precedent of the transaction have been satisfied, enabling the sale of a minority stake in its New Subsidiary – Vantage Studios – to Tencent to close in the coming days. This marks a major milestone in Ubisoft’s transformation journey. The proceeds of this transaction will deleverage the Group on a consolidated non-IFRS net debt basis, while providing enhanced financial flexibility to support its strategic transformation.
The first Creative House — built around the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s
Rainbow Six franchises — will operate under three guiding principles: Autonomy, Focus, and Player Centricity. A new leadership team is being formed, including Heads of Franchises, to drive creative excellence and operational agility across each brand on their path to building annual billion-euro brand ecosystems.
New operating model to be announced in January 2026
By year end, the Group will have finalized the design of its new operating model built around Creative Houses, independent business units with the objective of driving stronger creative vision, greater focus, efficiency, autonomy and accountability. The full details of this model will be unveiled in January 2026.
The Group disposes of a non-IFRS net debt position of €1.15 billion at end September that comes with a cash and cash equivalent position of €668 million. The €1.16 billion proceeds from the Tencent transaction will enable to deleverage the Group, and notably the early repayment of the Term Loan and Schuldschein loans, which have an outstanding principal amount of approximately €286 million.
Ubisoft said its cost reduction initiatives are on track. Ubisoft’s cost reduction program targeting at least €100 million in fixed cost savings by FY2026-27 vs. FY2024-25 is on track and progressing well.
1,500 jobs reduced in past year
Thanks to continued discipline in hiring and targeted restructuring efforts, Ubisoft’s global
headcount stood at 17,097 at the end of September 2025, representing a decrease of around 1,500 employees over the past 12 months and about 700 since the end of March 2025. In October, a targeted Voluntary Leave Program and a proposed restructuring were introduced at our Nordic studios.
The H1 FY2025-26 fixed cost base stood at around €701m, down €69m and 9% year-on-year, including a favorable foreign exchange impact. This early repayment will also address the non-compliance of its leverage ratio triggered by the IFRS accounting restatement described in this press release below.