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EXCLUSIVE – Yves Guillemot’s Internal Memo to Staff Amid Company Struggles

Insider Gaming has received an internal memo from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot that was sent to staff before today’s earnings call.

The memo includes announcing the Assassin’s Creed Shadows delay and the news that Star Wars Outlaws underperformed.

The full memo reads,


“Dear All,

We just issued a press release announcing our revised financial targets for the current fiscal year.

First, Star Wars Outlaws’ initial sales proved softer than expected, despite solid ratings from players that recognized the game’s faithful transcription of the original trilogy’s essence and richness: 76 on Metacritic, 3.85/5 on PS store, ~4/5 on Xbox and 4.4/5 on Epic. While players praise the sense of detail and the beauty of the graphics, the effectiveness of the reputation system, and endearing characters like Nix, some also noted areas of improvement. The development teams are already hard at work on this, focusing on save issues, stealth mechanics, more frequent quest checkpoints, and better NPC AI. I’m confident that these updates will significantly improve the player experience by allowing us to deliver on its promise, and make Star Wars Outlaws a must-play game and long-term seller. In parallel, the Publishing teams and developers are closely collaborating to increase the engagement with the game and boost player acquisition during Black Friday and the holiday season.

In today’s ultra-competitive market, players expect extraordinary experiences and ultra-polished games on Day 1. We need to continue to improve when it comes to fine-tuning our games and delivering outstanding gameplay. This is what will enable Ubisoft to again create the best games in the industry.

Consequently, we decided to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 14, 2025. The game is already playable and of high quality, and has all the features the team wanted to integrate into this ambitious experience. This unusual decision at such an advanced stage is motivated by our desire to offer an optimal experience from launch on all platforms and various PC configurations, and to remove the small frictions we typically used to address in post-launch title updates. We will also use the extra time to complement the experience with a few high-impact secondary quests that will bring even more memorable moments.

Additionally, as a result of listening to player feedback on other topics, our new releases, starting with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, will again be available on Steam on launch day, in addition to being available on first parties’, Epic’s and Ubisoft’s stores. Also, we are currently rethinking our Season Pass model for our upcoming games. For Assassin’s Creed Shadows, all players will have access to the game at the same time, and those who have pre-ordered the game will get the first expansion for free.

Beyond the first important short-term actions that I’ve outlined above, the company’s top management will focus on accelerating the improvement of our production, communication, and publishing practices and processes in close collaboration with all these teams, with the objective to put players at the heart of all our decisions. We will regularly update you on the progress we’re making.

Lastly, I’d like to address the recent polarized coverage around our creative choices. We are an entertainment company. As such, our objective is not to endorse any specific agenda. Our mission has always been to entertain players and enrich their lives with original and memorable experiences, that resonate with a global audience.

This setback should not discourage us but serve as a learning experience and drive us to act even more quickly. More than ever, let’s continue to believe in our ability to bounce back, while approaching the challenges we face with lucidity and determination. I would like to thank you for your commitment and to reiterate my confidence in our collective ability to surprise and meet the expectations of a growing number of passionate players in the long term.

Yves


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It’s also been announced that Ubisoft’s Board will launch an investigation and review into the company to help improve its practices.

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Avatar of Captain_Fuzz
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Captain_Fuzz

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181 messages 340 likes

Hope this is the beginning of the end for the ubisoft of late; They used to put out absolute bangers year on year and now we get AA slop marketed as the new best thing since sliced bread... Skull & Bones being described by Yves as quadruple A should land him in prison 😂

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Avatar of SoloDolo
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SoloDolo

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103 messages 183 likes

“For Assassin’s Creed Shadows, all players will have access to the game at the same time, and those who have pre-ordered the game will get the first expansion for free.”

Oh free first expansion…sweet!

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Avatar of J2thaP10
J2thaP10

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28 messages 24 likes

Considering it's a Ubisoft title, better take some more time. Get back to the quality they used to have. Not this copy/paste of the last years and hardly any innovation in all this time.

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Avatar of Tainted
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Tainted

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103 messages 92 likes

the end for the ubisoft of late; They used to put out absolute bangers year on year

  • FarCry Instincts
  • Rainbow Six Black Arrow
  • Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
  • Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike
  • Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
  • Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Those were my Ubisoft days.

Reply 5 Likes

Avatar of SoloDolo
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SoloDolo

Moderator

103 messages 183 likes
  • FarCry Instincts
  • Rainbow Six Black Arrow
  • Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
  • Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike
  • Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
  • Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Those were my Ubisoft days.

Would love it if they brought back single player Rainbow Six. Vegas was chefs kiss 🤌

Reply 3 Likes

Avatar of Captain_Fuzz
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Captain_Fuzz

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181 messages 340 likes

"This unusual decision at such an advanced stage is motivated by our desire to offer an optimal experience from launch on all platforms and various PC configurations, and to remove the small frictions we typically used to address in post-launch title updates."

Unusual decision to have a complete working game at launch -- who put this man in charge???
He probably saw the Ghost 2 reception and pulled the plug til it's patched up 😅

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a
angrybeard

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1 messages 3 likes

Homie is out of touch and delusional.

"In today’s ultra-competitive market, players expect extraordinary experiences and ultra-polished games on Day 1."

Newsflash you clown, we always expected that.

Reply 3 Likes

Avatar of Captain_Fuzz
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Captain_Fuzz

Moderator

181 messages 340 likes

"In today’s ultra-competitive market, players expect extraordinary experiences and ultra-polished games on Day 1."

Big problem with ubisoft is players expect the opposite 😂 a poor, unpolished experience; and so less people buy them.

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Bogdan47xD

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56 messages 52 likes

Tom,
do you know if the collector's edition for AC Shadows will have a different price considering that there is no longer the Ultimate Edition and its benefits? I have a pre-order with him, but I am curious if they are going to offer another price for this edition.

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Avatar of SleepyAgent
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SleepyAgent

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83 messages 83 likes

I honestly wish they would just stop trying to make every game the exact same game with a new coat of paint.

Let Assassin's Creed be Assassin's Creed. Stop trying to make it Witcher-lite.

Let Splinter Cell be a single player game with a tight story and large open plan stealth missions that encourage replays with different strategies, hell if you want a "Live-Element" bring back Spies v Mercs.

Bring back Rayman. Legends is a beloved platformer game, more of that please.

Give Watch Dogs its own very distinct identity and expand on the unique elements of that series.

Make Ghost Recon mil-sim again.

Just trust your teams to make solid games, rather than running every game through the investor buzzword checklist.

Reply 4 Likes

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M
MrTrippp666

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1 messages 2 likes

Make Ghost Recon mil-sim again.

I'd love the next GR game to move closer into the Mil-sim space. So many want it to remain that FarCry adventure game and forget that it was once a tactical shooter.

Reply 2 Likes

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