180°

Ubisoft Aims to Increase Developers Working on Assassin's Creed by 40%; Announces Financial Results

Ubisoft just announced its financial results for the full fiscal year 2022-23, related to the period between April 2022 and March 2023.

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techraptor.net
italiangamer365d ago

Ubisoft and Activision are the real life example of the saying "putting all your eggs in one basket", if Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty collapse they're gonna be in deep shit for sure.

-Foxtrot365d ago

Square Enix are the same with Final Fantasy

shinoff2183364d ago

Not as much as the other 2. We don't get a ff game as often as ac or cod. Square still manages some other releases in between. Just none as big as ff

-Foxtrot364d ago

Maybe not as bad but it's their golden child, take FF away from them and Square Enix are nothing. You have Kingdom Hearts and the like but not really full blown hot sellers.

solideagle364d ago

Square also has Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts. did they sell Tomb Raider/Hitman etc?

goldwyncq364d ago

They have Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest.

CrimsonWing69364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

What about all the Square Enix releases between FF releases? If FF was annual and we saw little to nothing else from the dev/publisher I’d agree.

They took a chance with Forspoken and it had a massive budget. Just not many liked it.

We’ve gotten some great gems from them like NieR. Dragon Quest is probably going to pretty big.

I think it’s more that FF is their most popular IP that they really put in all they have because the gamble won’t be like a Forspoken level disaster.

Capcom’s a bit similar with their IPs that sell. You get far more Monster Hunter and Resident Evil releases versus the new IP stuff.

Chevalier364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

Square has a very successful FF14 bringing in regular revenue and Dragonquest too so Squares fine. Plus FF isn't annual like AC or COD.

bangoskank364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

Not true, and Final Fantasy are actually good games that aren't rehashes of the same thing over and over again. Ubisoft should shift their focus on new IPs or something original or maybe not letting anticipated games like the sequel to Beyond Good & Evil 2 become vaporware. That company is a complete mess. I could see them being bought in the next couple of years.

-Foxtrot364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

The point is guys compared to FF games like Kingdom Hearts, Nier, Dragon Quest don't sell the same, they sell but they don't do FF numbers so they'd rather put all their eggs in that FF basket rather than doing more of the other games and new IPs

The last main game of Nier was Nier: Automata in 2017

Kingdom Hearts III was released in 2019

Dragon Quest XI was released in 2017

It's 2023 and a new mainline Nier hasn't been announced and the other two don't have release dates.

Over the past couple of years we've had multiple expansions for FFXIV, FFVII Remake, the Pixel Remaster, FFXVI, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

It's clear were Square Enix priorities are, they couldn't even put the effort into a new IP like Forspoken

At the end of the day Square don't take risks because of FF

andy85363d ago (Edited 363d ago )

They are though. DQ and KH sell very well.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 363d ago
isarai364d ago

And "Too Many cooks spoil the broth"

jznrpg364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

@mooppeister Feeling frisky?

364d ago
Chocoburger364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

AC has been spoiled ever since they ruined the lore, changed the freerunning, added endless grinding and upgrading elements, moved the attacks to the shoulder buttons for no reason, infinitely spawning named characters hunting you, and a massive, uninteresting skill tree, placed on a game world that is too big, bland, and boring, packed with copy / paste locations, all designed to artificially extend the length of their crappy games.

Nothing Ubisoft can do to salvage this train wreck of a franchise anymore.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 364d ago
ModsDoBetter364d ago

Didn’t Ubi also have some controversy around their results with the top brass blaming the devs?

The last innovation AC ever seen was the jump to RPG with Origins and since then it’s just been bloat & microtransactions.

Feel the same with all of their main titles to be honest: Far Cry 1/2/3, all excellent. I’ve bought and tried 4/5/6 but can not get into them for the life of me.

WatchDogs has been an average franchise since inception and pretty much left. The Crew was a decent idea, executed poorly. Same with The Division, massive downgrades all around.

The only games I think they’ve managed well are For Honor and Siege as even Ghost Recon has been absolutely butchered.

They really should revamp Splinter Cell & Rainbow Six Vegas or something similar. Give AC and Far Cry a break for a while to keep it feeling fresh.

gleepot364d ago

ABK has so many successful franchises. CoD collapse would leave a huge dent, but they have many more baskets of eggs.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 363d ago
senorfartcushion364d ago

Wow, just like Activision with Call of Duty.

This sounds like you want AC to be a live service platform. Well if you keep making crap like Xdefiant and The Division Heartland, you may as well just give up making a single-player open world game into a crap live service.

Who’s have though that the game from the PS3 demo disc with the white-cloaked assassin scaling a wall and knifing a Templar would eventually go on to become a crappy, useless multiplayer online-only storefront simulator with terribly-implemented RPG mechanics?

Profchaos364d ago (Edited 364d ago )

Agree but let's be honest back in 07 who thought AC would even get a sequel let alone a franchise it was mediocre at best and largely average. Critic's were quite harsh from memory

Pyrofire95364d ago

No. Activision tore down their studios and turned them into COD. Ubisoft is making their other games just as before, this is just an addition to their AC teams.

anast364d ago

They need a lot of tailing and eavesdropping missions to capture that old AC magic...

Pyrofire95364d ago

It seems like many are taking this info and just going "big company move mean bad company" Look I'm pretty sick of games taking 4-8 years to release. AC releasing 1-2 years apart is a great spot for me. The only one releasing this year is Mirage which is a smaller game than the RPG ones.
So what are people actually complaining about? Because adding to their workforce isn't directly good or bad.
Ubi still makes other games, adding to their workforce doesn't take from those.
You can bet any of the mobile and spin-off games are skippable if you really want, so they really don't effect you in any negative way or at all.
If you don't even like AC, why are you here?

280°

Microsoft's quest for short-term $$$ is doing long-term damage to Windows, Surface, Xbox, and beyond

Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's plans to increase every department's margins.

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windowscentral.com
Brazz6h ago

"The plan to move Xbox games to other platforms is codenamed "Latitude" internally, and I know there's debate and unease at Microsoft about whether or not this is a good idea. More upcoming Microsoft-owned games slated for PlayStation are already being developed. At least for now, they're potentially obvious games you'd most likely expect. And yes, while it's true Microsoft is a prolific publisher on PlayStation already, it has typically revolved around specific franchises like Minecraft. From what I've heard, Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's mandate to increase every department's margins. "

Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware.

Xeofate4h ago

"Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware."

It's for the best.

Quit stringing along xbox fans and screwing over PlayStation owners.

gold_drake6h ago

i think it will kill off the xbox brand. windows will be fine.

but there is and would be a chance that xbox might be killed off in the future. if they fail to make the money they put in. imo.

S2Killinit3h ago

They wont kill it, but they will go fully PC while keeping xbox as a brand, and go multiplatform for the most part. They will also work tirelessly to diminish console gaming’s importance.

PRIMORDUS29m ago

It would be best if Xbox goes the way of Sega, just make and publish games. I know I myself will not support them at all with buying games from them, you all can. 🙃

shadowT5h ago

"Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation"

Forza and Starfield next?

Skuletor4h ago

Starfield would be no surprise and there's the rumor that it will come to Playstation after the Shattered Space DLC, Forza (along with Halo and Gears of War) I find less likely but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually end up on PlayStation too, especially if Xbox give up on hardware and go the Sega route.

shinoff21834h ago

Not to worried about forza. I'd rather see others like what inxile and obsidian are working on. Starfield sounds like it needs more time in the oven so let it cook first imo. If starfield and it's a small if does release on ps it'll be in the fall around the time for dlc or right at the dlc and come packaged with it.

-Foxtrot4h ago

In the words of Phil Spencer when he was talking about Nintendo last year

“It's just taking a long time for Microsoft to see that their future exists off of their own hardware"

S2Killinit3h ago

Yup. MS are a cancer to console gaming.

Aloymetal2h ago

100%!!
I wonder what happened to that dude that was always here posting those court articles with cartoons about MS spending all those billions in studios. He suddenly disappeared, I guess he doesn't like bad news when the green brand is in trouble. No new articles from him as of late...

PRIMORDUS28m ago

Yup, and it's only going to keep spreading.

Outside_ofthe_Box33m ago

Phil Spencer's words always comes back to bite him lol

4h agoReplies(7)
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110°

Hypercharge Unboxed Dev Saddened By Claims It'll Be 'Dead' Without Xbox Game Pass

One of the big Xbox releases heading our way in May 2024 is the long-awaited Hypercharge Unboxed, which is finally bringing its "first and third-person shooter action figure game" to Xbox consoles on Friday, May 31st.

Sadly, ahead of launch, the game's official Twitter (or "X") account has been highlighting the "trolls" who are claiming that because it's not launching on Game Pass, Hypercharge Unboxed is already set up for failure on Xbox.

helicoptergirl14h ago

It's horrible what people will say, but the truth might be harsh. There is a good chance it might not do well on Xbox if it's not on GamePass. There is a strong possibility that is the case. We'll see.

When it launches on Playstation in the future you can rest assured it will sell much better. The devs have confirmed it's coming to Playstation in the future.

"It is built in the Unreal Engine 4. The game was released on the Nintendo eShop on January 31, 2020 and on Steam on April 27, 2020. The development of Hypercharge: Unboxed for the Xbox platform was officially announced on July 16, 2022, with the developers also confirming future support for the PlayStation."

ZeekQuattro13h ago

I remember having this on my radar years ago for the Switch but never pulled the trigger on it. Crazy it's still not on PlayStation yet.

northpaws5h ago

And that's the problem of GamePass.

JEECE4h ago

Unfortunately once people are conditioned to expect to get something as part of a subscription they already pay for, they are unlikely to buy it a la carte. Some games, including this one, now look like "Gamepass Games" to a huge chunk of the Xbox audience. Maybe this game will buck that trend, and I wish them luck, but I'd imagine they'll have a rough go trying to sell this game on Xbox.

shinoff21834h ago

Hopefully their game not selling on Xbox doesn't stop them from bringing it to ps. I can't imagine why a developer would go Xbox first if their not on gamepass. Good luck to them though.

JEECE3h ago

Yeah I can't figure that out either. I mean I understand why you go there first if you get a Gamepass payday, but if you are just trying to sell copies it doesn't make sense. Fewer users overall, and a smaller percentage of those users are willing to buy indie games a la carte.

Jingsing2h ago

Yeah, I can't understand it either unless there is some deep routed fan-boyism from the developer, which isn't very clever if you are trying to make a living. Fatshark is a perfect example of a developer sending their games to die on Xbox and they kept doing it.

Jingsing2h ago

British guy saying Xbox is his dream console doesn't really sit right does it. 5 generations of PlayStation in the UK and you haven't figured out what console is going to make you the most money. That is the mistake you've made.

90°

Epic Games Faces $1.2 Million Fine Over "Unfair Practices," Plans to Fight Back

Epic Games is facing a $1.2 million fine by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets over "unfair practices" in the Fortnite shop.

Sciurus_vulgaris21h ago

It might be cheaper to simply pay the fine. Fighting said fine could cost millions due to court and lawyer fees. Fortnite generates well over a 100 million in each month, so Epic has plenty of cash.

franwex13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

But if they did pay it, then they are basically admitting that they did something they weren’t supposed to be doing. If they fight it, they may win and continue to have a sense of urgency for their micro transactions thus making more money long term.

Goodguy015h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Meaning more suits to follow from others if they don't fight as well.

Not a fan of Epic nor fortnite and their micro transactions. But the game is heavily supported and is free to play, all store items are completely cosmetic.

11h ago
Furesis8h ago

I'd fight back too. These are kinda meaningless reasons to fine someone like really for THAT. It's like they just wanted to make money or something.