Thanks to strong sales from titles such as Assassin’s Creed Unity and Far Cry 4, Ubisoft has reported that their 2014 third-quarter sales were significantly up over the same period in 2013. The publisher saw revenue for the quarter reach a staggering $924 million, which was a 49.5% increase over the previous year.
Leading the way for Ubisoft during the quarter was the always reliable Assassin’s Creed franchise. Despite their rocky releases, Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Rogue combined to sell 10 million units. Far Cry 4 and Just Dance 4, two of the publisher’s other popular franchises, sold 7 million and 4 million units, respectively. The Crew, which also suffered from some frustrating launch issues, managed to pass the 2 million milestone as well.
Digital sales for Ubisoft were also up significantly over the previous year, as they jumped 157% over the holiday season. This increase was possible through not only the publisher’s slate of fourth quarter releases, but also titles such as Valiant Hearts and Child of Light.
Despite the strong sales over the first three quarters of Ubisoft’s fiscal year, the publisher is expecting to see a decline over the final three months. They are currently projecting sales of $167 million for the quarter, which would be down 25% percent. With no major releases scheduled for the period besides the PC port of Assassin’s Creed Rogue, this is not unexpected.
Overall, though, things are looking up for Ubisoft. Boosted by the strong group of holiday releases, and the launch of Watch Dogs back in May, the publisher has brought in $1.5 billion of sales during the final nine months of 2014, which is up 60% over 2013.
Tell us, are you surprised at the strong sales Ubisoft saw over the holiday season? Or were you expecting their star-studded slate of releases to sell well? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.