Ubisoft’s European MD Alain Corre knows that Ubisoft focuses on triple-A titles, and with good reason. Simply put, “The games that are not triple-A are not profitable anymore,” he said.
"When you have a triple-A blockbuster it costs more money to develop, but at the end of the day there’s also the chance of a good return on it because there’s a concentration at the top of the charts. To a certain extent it becomes less risky to invest more in a single game or franchise than spreading your investment between three or four games. Because if those three or four games are not at the right quality level, you are sure to lose money," said Corre in an interview with GI.biz.
The business of hardcore games is rapidly changing. Corre mentions that work may stop on a franchise if it is not attaining projected levels of sales. The entire business model for Ubisoft has drastically changed over the past 18 months. “The market is not supporting the full range of product that it used to anymore," he said.
A developer and publisher as large as Ubisoft focusing on larger triple-A titles could be perceived as a good and bad thing. With the volatility of new IP success, it is a reasonable move for Ubisoft to take a path that is considered safer. After all, the foundation of any company is to accrue profits for its shareholders, and to focus on breadwinners is certainly the right move to make. That said, publishers need to be careful not to fall into the trap of milking their franchises to death and stifling creativity for the love of money, as Chris Taylor puts it.
