Ubisoft expects Black Flag Resynced to outperform on lower costs

Ubisoft expects Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced to deliver what chief financial officer Frédérick Duguet called "superior financial performance," on the strength of a production budget well below that of an original release. GamesIndustry.biz reported the comments from the publisher's earnings call following its most recent results.

Duguet said the company is not raising its second-quarter guidance despite that expectation, citing a "strong competitive lineup" in the market and the timing of Ubisoft's own releases, among them the Rayman Legends Retold remake.

The economics of an ambitious remake

Asked to expand on the remake's performance, Duguet described the cost structure that separates it from a new game. Ambitious remakes reuse the original's assets while still adding gameplay and features, he said, so they carry real investment but a smaller overall budget than the original estimate. They also inherit the original's awareness, which lowers marketing spend, and they do not command a full-game price.

Duguet declined to say directly whether Rayman Legends Retold could repeat that result. He said instead that the remake would come with "a revamped and improved experience" that sticks to the original's DNA while adding gameplay features, a broader scope and a full revamp in 3D, and that it should attract "a whole new generation of players" alongside long-time fans.

Guillemot on Sony dropping discs

Elsewhere on the call, chief executive Yves Guillemot was asked whether Sony's decision to stop shipping physical discs for new PlayStation games could shut down the trade-in market that funds some new purchases. He pointed to PC as the counter-example, saying an all-digital market had helped that platform grow, and argued that dropping disc drives puts downward pressure on hardware costs and makes consoles more accessible. "There are pluses and minuses, but we think it will not disturb the industry too much," he said.