Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Ubisoft Q3 Fiscal Year 2025 Sales Webcast and Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there'll be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one and one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to our first speaker today, Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.
Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining the call today. Our Q3 net bookings were in line with our revised expectations. Frédérick will provide more detail on that later on. As we look ahead, we are fully focused on the upcoming launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows on March 20. Early previews have been positive, praising its narrative and immersive experience, with both characters playing critical roles in the game's storyline as well as the quality and complementarity of the gameplay provided by the dual protagonist approach. Personally, I am pleased about the fact that the previews contributed to a better understanding of the coherence and power of the two protagonists' very singular and epic narrative trajectories that had initially given rise to some controversies and misunderstandings.
I want to commend the incredible talent and dedication of the entire Assassin's Creed team, who is working tirelessly to ensure that Shadows delivers on the promise of what is the franchise's best and most ambitious entry yet. We are also progressing well on our cost reduction program. As a result of disciplined execution, we have announced further targeted restructurings, making difficult but necessary choices, and now expect to exceed our cost reduction objective by the end of financial year 2025, ahead of schedule. We plan to pursue our efforts in financial year 2026. Finally, the formal review process of our strategic options is ongoing. Ultimately, the objective of this competitive process is to unlock the best value from our assets for our stakeholders and to foster the best conditions to create great games in a fast-evolving market. We are convinced there are different potential paths to achieve this ambition.
I will now hand over the call to Frédérick. Frédérick?
Yeah, thank you, Yves, and hello, everybody. Our Q3 net bookings reached EUR 302 million, and as mentioned by Yves, in line with our revised expectations. Since the beginning of the fiscal year, MAUs across consoles and PC stood at 36 million remain broadly stable year-on-year. Activity metrics have been solid, with playtime and session days per player respectively up by 4% and 7%. On the new release side, while the sales curve for Star Wars Outlaws improved throughout the holiday season, it wasn't enough to deliver on our expectations. Thanks to the rollout of title updates, the game has reached a high level of quality and is considered by the fans as one of the most immersive and beautiful interactive representations of the Star Wars universe. The game will be a long-term seller.
Turning to back catalog net bookings, they stood at EUR 268 million this quarter, down 26% year- on- year. Excluding partnerships, they were down mid-single digit in Q3 while being up mid-single digit since the start of the fiscal year. In a significantly tougher competitive landscape for first-person shooter live services games, Rainbow Six Siege delivered a resilient performance this quarter, with activity broadly flat in December despite a strong comparable base. Session days per player in Q3 grew year-on-year, while Year 9 Season 4 reception was solid, culminating in December achieving the highest monthly average revenue per paying user in the game's history. Looking at the game's ranking across all console and PC genres, the game ranked in the top 15 in terms of MAUs in both fiscal Q3 and calendar year 2024, and even improved in January to get back to the top 12.
Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, the game's activity has been stable year-on-year, and its playtime grew solidly. Looking ahead, the Six Invitational is taking place in the United States, the game's largest market, for the first time. As the game nears its 10th anniversary, the team is preparing something significant to celebrate this milestone. For some time now, we have been prioritizing major growth plans for the years ahead starting next fiscal year, even if it meant producing less content in fiscal year 2025. Elsewhere in the back catalog, the Assassin's Creed franchise performed strongly throughout the quarter, highlighted by the Steam release of Assassin's Creed Mirage, confirming the brand is in great shape. Meanwhile, The Crew Motorfest launched its year two of content featuring the brand new island of Maui.
The game's retention and monetization metrics continued to significantly outperform those of The Crew 2 since launch and achieved its highest monthly player count to date in December. Overall, The Crew franchise saw session days grow 38% year-on-year this quarter. Since the beginning of the year, the number of unique active players grew 18% year-on-year. Refle`cting the fact that Q3 of last year had two large new releases, total digital net bookings reached EUR 257 million, down 45% year-on-year, and represented 85% of our total net bookings. PRIs stood at EUR 144 million, down 18% year-on-year, and reflected a lower PRI contribution from this year's new releases, of which a negative contribution from XDefiant discontinuation linked to the refunds issued this quarter. Mobile stood at EUR 29 million this quarter.
Throughout the quarter, as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline operations and enhance collective efficiency, we have continued to drive significant cost reductions as we have adopted an even more selective approach to investment. In December, following a thorough assessment of our performance, profitability, and market conditions, we announced the discontinuation of XDefiant and the closure of three production studios in high-cost geographies. Additionally, in January, we announced the closure of an additional production site and targeted restructurings that impacted three other studios. We now expect to exceed the EUR 200 million reduction of our fixed cost base by fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2023 ahead of schedule. We plan to pursue these efforts in fiscal year 2026 and go beyond our initial target by a significant margin. Today, we have confirmed our fiscal year 2025 guidance.
We expect net bookings of around EUR 1.9 billion and approximately break-even on adjusted operating income and free cash flow. Together with a solid back catalog and expected multiple partnerships, Q4 net bookings are planned to grow year-on-year thanks to the Assassin's Creed Shadows release. As we mentioned, the Assassin's Creed Shadows previews were positive, with critics praising its immersive world, stunning visuals, and richly detailed setting. The game builds on the franchise's core strengths while introducing fresh elements that enhance variety and engagement. The dual protagonist gameplay was particularly well received, offering two distinct play styles that cater to different player preferences, as well as both characters playing critical roles in the game's storyline. Stealth mechanics and parkour fluidity were highlighted as major improvements, while the revamped combat system was praised for its strengths.
Finally, the inclusion of Canon Mode and Immersive Mode was seen as a thoughtful addition specifically tailored to core fans. Current preorders for the games are supportive. The bulk of the preorders is still to come, and while we have just reopened digital preorders, we are happy to see that our total preorders are already tracking on par with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, five weeks ahead of launch, the second most successful entry of the franchise, keeping in mind that the Ubisoft Plus subscription service didn't exist at the time, and as always, here are a few fiscal year 2025 housekeeping items for modeling purposes. The stock-based compensation is expected at around EUR 55 million and change versus prior guidance. The non-IFRS net financial charge is expected at around EUR 45 million and change versus prior guidance, reflecting the full-year effect of last year's additional financing.
The Non-IFRS tax rate is not relevant in the context of break-even Non-IFRS operating income. And the number of diluted shares is expected at around 128 million, reflecting the fact that with an expected negative net income, the dilutive nature of our instruments no longer kicks in. We are now ready to take your questions.
Thank you. To ask a question, you will need to press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. We will now go to your first question. One moment, please. And your first question comes from the line of Nicolas Langlet from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Yes, hello, good afternoon, everyone. I've got a couple of questions on the licensing and partnership deals you expect in Q4. So first of all, are you able to split the contribution between the streaming rights of Activision Blizzard games and the other type of partnerships? As I think you still expect a bit of streaming rights in Q4. Secondly, regarding the partnership deals, anything you can share regarding the nature of the deal? Is it linked to subscription services, publishing deal, or any detail would be appreciated? And finally, in terms of cash impact, do you expect to get the full impact of those deals in Q4 this year, or we might see a bit of delay in the collection as it was the case last year? Just to be clear on that. And then I've got a follow-up, please.
Yes, thank you, Nicolas. So in terms of the partnership overall, what we can say is that, as mentioned during last call, we expect a total contribution that will be broadly in line with what we did last year in Q4. But we won't provide any more details, as you can imagine, these are confidential elements. In terms of the nature of the deal, we can't share more either. What we can refer to is what we've been doing over the last six years, which has been a combination of new releases coming to platforms that want to get traffic and/or back catalog of games coming to platforms that want to drive traffic and us getting the benefit of more penetration on these platforms and/or publishing deals indeed.
And as you've just mentioned, we added last year the additional opportunity to monitor streaming rights from what we acquired from Activision and what we want to continue doing. But we can't share more at this stage. In terms of cash, we don't expect the 100% of them coming into Q4, but the majority of them in the current quarter.
Okay, okay, perfect. And then on the cash position, so I think during the last call, you mentioned EUR 800 million of cash position in June. What's the level of gross cash you expect at the end of full year 2025? And I think also in previous call, you mentioned EUR 260 million of debt reimbursement in calendar 2025. Do you confirm? And can you tell us which debt instrument you plan to reimburse next year? Thank you.
So on the first question, sorry, can you repeat the first question?
So what's the level of gross cash you expect at the end of full year 2025 compared to the EUR 800 million you mentioned in previous call?
So yeah, we don't guide on this. What we can tell you is that we expect gross debt at the end of the fiscal year to be around EUR 1.9 billion, and what we mentioned previously is that we expect free cash flow to be around break-even this year, and we also got the benefit of a capital increase of around EUR 40 million this fiscal year through the Employee Share Ownership Plan that was issued in August. In terms of debt reimbursement in 2025, we expect around EUR 275 million, of which EUR 260 million at the end of the calendar year.
Okay, and that EUR 260 million, it's related to the loan, bank debt, anything you can share?
It's a combination of term loan and Schuldschein.
Okay, very clear. Thank you, Frédérick.
You're welcome.
Thank you. We will now take the next question from David Lustberg from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Hey, thanks, guys. I want to ask around the cost reduction plan. It sounds like you guys are making great progress there as it relates to what you guys have previously announced. The comments on 2026 were interesting, which sounds like you guys maybe have a little bit more wood to chop there. Maybe can you talk a little bit about, I think you used the word significant, how big should we be thinking about a cost reduction plan in 2026? Is it something you guys have already put in place, or more so just planning and laying the groundwork for? Thank you.
Yes, hello, David. Yes, we've been happy with the momentum of this cost reduction program. And yes, we now have a good visibility to be able to exceed the initial target a year ahead of schedule. And yes, we qualified for now the fact that we will exceed the initial target in fiscal 2026 by a significant margin. I won't go further in terms of qualifying it. We'll share with you more in the future. But we'll continue along the same lines that we've done so far.
So as we mentioned, with an even more selective approach to investments, so combining, streamlining of our production processes, simplifying the organization, that allows us to, with stronger focus, to maintain a strict control on recruitments, so rely more on internal mobility and as well as pursuing with targeted restructuring, lower external spending, so sharper purchasing. So that's what we can say at this stage.
Got it. That's helpful. And a follow-up, if I may, just curious if you can talk a little bit about how you guys have been thinking about the development pipeline. Obviously, there's a lot going on. Just talk about how you guys are fundamentally thinking about product development from here, given everything you guys have seen recently. Really appreciate it. Thank you, guys.
Yeah, so we have, as we had said before, we've been investing significantly for a big pipeline of products for the coming years, along our two verticals being open world action adventure and as well as gamer service native experiences. And that's what we want to deliver year after year. As you know, we are preparing with a big launch for AC Shadows in the very short term. Next year, we'll have big growth plans that would benefit to Rainbow Six across all platforms. So that's progressing well. And that's a key milestone in the growth plan for the company.
We announced that Anno 117: Pax Romana will come also next year, as well as The Division Resurgence on mobile. All this coming along well. We haven't provided more color for fiscal year 2026, but we will have more to share by the time of May. As I've just said, we have a strong pipeline for the future years across these two verticals.
Thank you. We will now take the next question. The question comes from the line of Nick Dempsey from Barclays. Please go ahead.
Hi, yeah, thank you, guys. Just a question about your comment on the preorders for Shadows and how those relate to Odyssey. Was Odyssey the second biggest revenue-generating game, or was it the second biggest unit sales-generating game in its early months, Q1, whatever works? I'm just thinking it had more in-game spending than previous Assassin's Creeds. I'm just trying to think what the preorders might mean for our first 12 days of Shadows unit sales?
Hello, Nick. Yes, Odyssey has been the second biggest performer in the franchise history, very close to Valhalla in terms of units sold on a comparable time basis. At the time when we launched Odyssey, it set a new benchmark for the franchise, so it was a very successful first week. That's what we can say at this stage. And when we look back, Odyssey has been accumulating 40 million players to date, so it's been really a great success. What we see as a preorders benchmark is encouraging.
And I guess a quick follow-up to that. Through the period of the last couple of years where we've seen some disappointing unit sales outcomes compared to your expectations, were you able to see those disappointing outcomes in the preorders? In other words, can we assume that the relationship between preorders and actual sales that we saw back in 2018, was it, for Odyssey, can still hold in the current environment?
What we can see is that for the curve that we have been observing after just reopening the digital preorders of Odyssey, it's really supportive of what we can anticipate. But of course, the bulk of the preorders for the next five weeks is still ahead of us. So, what we can see today, it's really positive. And of course, we'll continue monitoring this.
There are plenty of indicators that we look closely at to see how the game is expected by our players.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Ben Shelley from UBS. Please go ahead.
Hi, good evening. Thanks for taking my questions. I've got three, please. In the release, when you talk about the strategic and capital allocation options, can you talk us through what the incremental changes there have been since you last spoke to the market? Two, particularly, can you expand on the phrase formal and competitive process? Are you implying there is more than one interested party? And three, I just want to come back to cash and looking at the balance sheet for FY26. Would you expect to pay off upcoming debt obligations in FY26 through existing cash and cash generation, or would you look to refinance? If the latter, could you talk us through what options you are considering? Thank you.
Yeah, so in terms of strategic options, yes, as we said early January, we appointed advisors at the very beginning of the month, so now the process is ongoing. Of course, we can't share much more than that, but we are currently actively exploring various strategic and capitalistic options. Indeed, we are now got into a formal process that is a competitive process, and the board has decided to create an ad hoc committee that will oversee that process with three independent directors being members of this committee that will be shared by our lead independent director, so that's what we can say at this stage, and in terms of on the cash side, yes, we said that we benefited early January from a solid cash and cash equivalent position of EUR 800 million.
In the course of by the end of 2025, we have around EUR 274 million to reimburse. We are planning to be break-even in terms of cash generation by end of this fiscal year, and in fiscal 2026, we'll get the benefit of significant cash in from Assassin's Creed Shadows, as well as from the growth plan from Rainbow Six across all consoles and platforms, including mobile, and we will also have a growing impact of the cost reduction program that is ongoing, but as we've always done in the past, we continue looking at refinancing opportunities moving forward, of course.
Thanks very much, team.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one and one on your telephone keypad. We will now go to the next question, and your next question comes from the line of Alexander Peterc from Bernstein. Please go ahead.
Yes, hi, thank you for taking my question. The first one is on the strategic review. Do you actually have a date on which you plan to communicate on the conclusions there, or at least some idea at what point in time, at the latest, do you expect the process to complete? And then I have a quick follow-up. Thank you.
Yeah, the idea is to progress on the different options that we are exploring and to make a decision in the coming quarters.
So, definitely over the next two quarters, or is that we just can't say more?
In the next quarters, in the course of this year.
Okay, thank you. And then the second question is just on the reimbursements of debt that you have in the course of the next 12 months. So, what I see in your annual report is I have a term loan facility of EUR 218 million, installment loan facility of EUR 25 million, and Schuldschein for EUR 105 million. So, the sum of this is actually EUR 350 million. So, I'd just like to understand why the figure you gave is different, is a bit lower. Is the term loan facility lower, or what's moved there? Thanks.
Yeah, so we started reimbursing the term loan for around EUR 65 million over the last quarter. So that's why we're talking about a lower amount. And so that's why our short-term debt within a year in total is around EUR 274 million.
Excellent. Thank you very much for this detail.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Y ou're welcome.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Nick Dempsey from Barclays. Please go ahead.
Yeah, just one quick follow-up. When we're thinking now about the slate for FY26, is it possible for you to tell us whether you have at least more than one AAA game unannounced that we can start to build into our modeling for the year to end March 2026?
So, Nick, it's too early to give you a mock-up on this. We'll share with you where we are by May. What we said already is that, again, we have strong plans for the Rainbow Six brand across all platforms. We should get the benefit of strong sales from AC Shadows. We said two years and a half ago that we'll come with high-quality paid content going to market on the AC franchise. And we already announced the launch of Anno 117: Pax Romana that is a very promising strategy game. More to be said by May.
Thank you.
Thank you. I will now hand the call back for closing remarks.
Okay, thank you very much for all your questions, and have a good day or a good evening.
Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.