Ubisoft thanks player engagement for growth during an otherwise quiet Q1

Ubisoft has released the first quarterly report of the 2017-2018 fiscal year, detailing its financial results for the three month quarter ending June 30. 

While the company had a quiet start to the fiscal year due to a lack of significant releases in the period, Ubisoft reports that it still saw growth during the first quarter, thanks in no small part to the performance of its back catalog. 

Total sales for Q1 came in at €202.1 million (~$233.6 million), marking a total year-over-year increase of 45.2 percent from the €139.1 million ($160.8 million) reported the year prior. 

Ubisoft’s back-catalog amounted to 94.3 percent of sales this time around, up just slightly from the 91.1 percent during the same period last year. Additionally, 80 percent of overall sales came from digital revenue this quarter. In particular, Ubisoft believes strong player retention has helped boost this first batch of numbers, noting that player recurring income jumped 73.4 percent in the past year for a total of €83.1 million (~$96 million) this quarter. 

But what some may find interesting is that, in a quarter with no significant releases to speak of, Ubisoft saw a steep increase in revenue brought in by PlayStation 4 content between the first quarter of this and the preceding fiscal year. Overall, 44 percent of its revenue came from PS4 related purchases, while Sony’s console only accounted for 31 percent during the first quarter of the 2016/17 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the Xbox One was responsible for 22 percent of this quarter’s revenue, down ever so slightly from the 23 percent reported the year before.

And, as always, it is worth noting that French accounting law only requires Ubisoft to disclose its profits at the end of its fiscal year, so expect more information to drop on the company’s overall performance nine months from now.