Ubisoft’s 10-Year Low Sparks Chaos as Activist Stages a Coup After Assassin’s Creed Delay

Not only are all the teenagers (and adult children living in their parents' basement) upset over Assassin’s Creed getting sidelined, but Ubisoft’s decision to delay “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” is causing investors to lose their minds.

Ubisoft’s stock just plummeted to a 10-year low, and yes, it’s really that bad. The French gaming giant is dealing with a triple-whammy of delayed releases, restless activist investors, and a grim financial forecast, leaving everyone wondering how much longer they can keep playing this losing game.

In case you missed it, Ubisoft recently announced that the next installment in its flagship Assassin’s Creed series, titled Assassin’s Creed Shadows, won’t be gracing your consoles until February 14, 2025—three months later than originally promised. 

So if you were hoping to slice your way through medieval Japan by this holiday season, well, you might want to find another way to channel that frustration (may I suggest Star Wars Outlaws, which also underwhelmed?).

Apparently, Ubisoft decided to “polish” Shadows after Star Wars Outlaws barely sold a game. But when you’re already bleeding from poor sales and guidance cuts, adding a delay to your biggest game of the year is more like rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship—it’s not going to stop the water from pouring in.

As soon as Ubisoft shared the news, the stock went full free-fall, hitting a decade-low. We’re talking Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate levels of bad. The stock crashed down 17% in just one day, giving Ubisoft a market value of $1.29 billion. This is a far cry from their high-flying days when investors were treating the company like the next best thing since GameStop. (Speaking of, maybe the redditors can save this company too?)

For some perspective, analysts had already been lowering expectations. Deutsche Bank slashed their price target, now predicting Shadows will sell around 7 million units—down from an earlier forecast of 8 million. If that wasn’t enough to ruin the party, Ubisoft’s new net bookings estimate for fiscal 2024-2025 is a disappointing $2.05 billion USD, a significant drop from their previous expectations.

As if things weren’t already messy, AJ Investments, an activist investor with less than 1% of Ubisoft stock, has decided to stir the pot. They’re gathering a coalition of other shareholders to pressure Ubisoft into selling itself off, and let’s just say Tencent’s name has come up more than once. The Chinese gaming monopoly already owns a 10% stake in Ubisoft, and AJ is pushing for a full takeover.

In an open letter, AJ Investments took some big shots, saying they’ve even lined up potential board members to take over and clean house if need be. Nothing says "we believe in you" like preparing to kick out current management and swap in some fresh faces.

If that wasn't dramatic, AJ Investments is also talking about staging a demonstration outside Ubisoft’s headquarters in Paris. So yeah, apparently we found the biggest Assassins Creed fan in the world.

Let’s just hope Ubisoft finds a way to course-correct before February 2025, or this might be one Assassin’s Creed title that gets lost in the shadows for good.

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Stock.News does not have positions in companies mentioned.