While Ubisoft earlier today announced that there will be no Assassins' Creed game this year, the French developer/publisher's third-quarter 2015-16 sales report revealed that Watch Dogs 2 is in development and is scheduled for release in fiscal  2016-17, meaning before April 2017.

Ubisoft released its sales figures for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2015.

Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, stated "Looking beyond our sales figures for the quarter, which have led us to update our full-year targets, our strategy of focusing on player engagement is paying off. For example, Rainbow Six Siege achieved record engagement levels during the period thanks to the success of its exceptional multiplayer mode. These advances are a decisive step in our business development and demonstrate the strong execution of our strategy, which will ultimately translate into regular revenue streams and enhanced profitability. The upcoming releases of Far Cry Primal and The Division should confirm these trends. The Division - whose recent closed beta exceeded all of our expectations - is set to be one of the largest launches of a new brand in the history of the video game industry."

"We are now in a position to take the decision not to release a new Assassin's Creed game in 2016-17, in order to give the brand a new dimension, while still presenting very solid targets for the fiscal year. These targets reflect the measures we have been putting in place over the past few years to transform our business model. Our portfolio of powerful franchises is solid and balanced and our global audience is growing steadily. At the same time, the digital segment is playing an increasingly important role and we are making a strong comeback in multiplayer. We now create experiences that accompany players throughout the year so we can enhance their long-term engagement. Each of these positive factors testifies to the change in Ubisoft's profile and has a favorable impact on our financial performance."

Guillemot concluded by saying "Our medium-term targets - which we will be presenting in a week's time - will confirm our potential for growth, enhanced profitability, cash generation and value creation for our shareholders."

Sales for the third quarter of 2015-16 came to €561.8 million, compared with €809.7 million in third-quarter 2014-15 and a target of approximately €600 million. For the first nine months of fiscal 2015-16, sales totaled €769.1 million versus €1,293.9 million for the corresponding prior-year period.

The third-quarter 2015-16 was notably marked by:

• A slower launch than expected for Assassin's Creed® Syndicate, in an exceptionally fierce competitive environment. The game's quality was lauded by the franchise's fans, however, and the Group was particularly pleased with the marked rise in players' engagement compared with the prior title.
• Record player engagement levels for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, with first-person shooter fans especially appreciating the quality of the multiplayer mode.
• The increasing weighting of digital within Ubisoft's overall sales, with this segment's revenues amounting to €207.7 million for the first nine months of 2015-16 and representing 27.0% of the total, versus 21.2% for the same period of 2014-15.
• A 42.6% jump in back-catalog sales to €280.8 million for the first nine months of 2015-16.

Ubisoft is revising its targets for full-year 2015-16. The new targets are sales of around €1,360 million and non-IFRS operating income of approximately €150 million, compared with the previous targets of flat sales and non-IFRS operating income of at least €200 million.

Ubisoft expects fourth-quarter 2015-16 sales to amount to approximately €591 million, compared with €170 million for the fourth quarter of 2014-15. The period will see the following main releases:

• Tom Clancy's The Division for PC, PS4 and Xbox One
• Far Cry Primal for PC, PS4 and Xbox One
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Operation Black Ice expansion for PC, PS4 and Xbox One

In 2016-17 the Company expects to achieve sales of around €1,700 million, non-IFRS operating income of approximately €230 million and strong free cash flow generation. Ubisoft will launch a very high-quality line-up, including For Honor, South Park: the Fractured but Whole, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon WildLands, the next instalment of Watchdogs, and a new high-potential AAA brand with strong digital live services. Growth also will be driven by further increases in revenues for the digital segment and the back catalog.