Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry 4 sales lead to higher than expected third-quarter for Ubisoft

The success of Ubisoft's heavy-hitters — Assassin's Creed, Far Cry 4, and The Crew — led to a successful third quarter for the fiscal year, ended December 31, 2014. Ubisoft announced that sales for the third quarter of 2014-15 came to €809.7 million (about $924 million), up 55.8% compared to the third-quarter from a year ago.

Ubisoft noted that the third-quarter sales figure was "higher than" the original target announced released in its first-half 2014-15 results, attributing the results to a "very good performance" from the two Assassin's Creed titles, Far Cry 4, and The Crew.

Getting into specifics, Ubisoft revealed that Assassin's Creed Unity and Rogue sold-in 10 million copies combined. Remember, that's units shipped, not actually sold through to consumers. Ubisoft did not get into specific sales for each individual game.

Far Cry 4, meanwhile, sold-in 7 million copies, while The Crew sold-in 2 million. Just Dance also had a "solid showing" with 4 million units sold-in. And lastly, Watch Dogs saw "continued success" with 10 million units sold-in since its release in May 2014.

"In 2014, Ubisoft offered gamers the most diversified line-up in the industry, with titles such as Assassin’s Creed Unity, Child of Light, Far Cry 4, Just Dance 2015, The Crew, Trials Fusion and Frontier, Valiant Hearts and Watch Dogs. This uniquely varied offering was also recognized for its overall quality," Ubisoft Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot said.

"We are now capitalizing on the investments we have made over the past several years to further develop our creative strengths, boost our marketing impact and extend our digital footprint," he added. "Our performance is all the more impressive given that it is wholly the result of Ubisoft’s teams. Each of these successful games was developed by our in-house studios and we own our brands, which means that our destiny is in our own hands and we are internalizing the value created for our shareholders.”

Ubisoft expects to "see a return to grown in the consoles market" in 2015-16, promising an "exceptional line-up" of games that includes a new Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy's The Division, and Rainbow Six Siege.