The Ubisoft logo. AFP/Robyn Beck
PARIS - French video game publisher Ubisoft reported that its financial results slid in the first half of the year, sending its shares tumbling.
The maker of "Assassin's Creed" and "Just Dance" games said turnover was down by nearly 20 percent, while "net bookings", its benchmark indicator, was down by nearly 22 percent.
Ubisoft shares lost nearly four percent on Wednesday, ending the day at 13.38 euros per share, above the all-time low of 9.01 euros the stock hit in September, but a long way down from the high of 100 euros per share at which it was trading 10 years ago.
Wednesday's results come at a difficult time for the company.
In September, it had to lower financial targets for the year after its "Star Wars Outlaws" game received a mixed reception upon release in August.
And while Ubisoft increased the number of players over the last 12 months, the company has often found itself the butt of mockery and criticism on social media, a phenomenon so popular it has received its own monicker, "Ubi-bashing".
In addition, some of its workers went on strike earlier this year, a rare occurrence in the video game sector.
Around 1,000 employees, out of the company's 4,000 in France, protested in mid-October against new company rules cutting down on remote work.
Ubisoft, which began a cost-cutting plan in 2023, said it had made more than 200 million euros in savings and reduced its workforce by more than 2,000 people over 24 months.
At the end of September, the total number of employees worldwide stood at 18,666, it said.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that China's Tencent giant was considering a joint move with the Guillemot family, which founded Ubisoft and is still the main shareholder, after the French company lost half its market value this year.