Ubisoft Warns Shareholders That Releasing Video Games Too Late Can Hurt Their Success
GTA 6 has shown that some games can survive long delays. But not every title is lucky enough to keep players interested after spending years in development.
Another very clear example is The Elder Scrolls 6. It has now been eight years since it was announced at E3 2018, and we still know almost nothing about the project.
These long development cycles highlight the challenge publishers face in keeping excitement alive. Ubisoft seems more aware than ever of the risks of releasing a game after its best launch date, “when market anticipation has waned.”
Ubisoft Says Delaying Games Too Long Can Damage Their Success
The French company spoke about this in its latest yearly report for investors. Although Ubisoft only talked about its own games, the company once again warned that things can go wrong when a game is released too early and “without being sufficiently developed.”
They said (via Game File), “Releasing a game too late – when market anticipation has waned and it no longer meets market standards in a highly competitive environment – can also hinder its success.”
This may sound clear, but the company has faced problems for years, and these issues now seem to worry the developer much more. Ubisoft did not name the games that caused this concern, but Game File noted that 2025 was full of games the company may have wanted to release earlier.
With Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Ubisoft finally took the series to Japan, but the game lost momentum in a short time. The mobile releases of Rainbow Six and The Division also had a “slow start,” something the company itself admitted.
Ubisoft’s next major games have been in development for several years, and there is still little information about the next Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
It is clear that Ubisoft wanted to warn its shareholders about the risk of releasing video games too late, especially because many of those investors understand money better than they understand the video game industry.
In other news, Kingdom Come Deliverance creator Daniel Vávra mocked Ubisoft after its financial struggles, saying the company could make 10 KCD2-sized AAA games every year.
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