In this photo illustration, the Ubisoft video game company logo seen displayed on a smartphone.
Igor Golovniov | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
LONDON — Shares of Ubisoft climbed on Wednesday after the French video game maker announced that first-week sales of its new Assassin’s Creed title outstripped that of any other launch in the popular franchise’s history.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the latest instalment in the series, was released on Nov. 10 in tandem with the launch of Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox consoles. The game follows the story of Eivor, a Viking raider whose tribe travels across the North Sea to settle in England.
Ubisoft topped the pan-European Stoxx 600 Monday morning, climbing 4.5%. The company said Assassin’s Creed Valhalla also marks its best-selling launch on PC ever, thanks to “all-time record” sales on its online games store. Ubisoft didn’t disclose how many copies of the game had been sold so far.
“Launch is only the beginning and we have robust content plans for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla that will keep players immersed in their epic Viking saga for a long time to come,” Julien Laferrière, a producer on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, said in a statement.
Video games have gotten a massive boost from the coronavirus pandemic this year as people spend more time playing indoors. And that momentum has shown no signs of slowing as Microsoft and Sony have seen strong demand for their respective Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles.
But it’s been a turbulent year for Ubisoft. The company was hit by a sexual misconduct scandal over the summer that resulted in the exit of a number of high-profile executives, including its chief creative officer. Ubisoft subsequently vowed to take action to address failings in its work culture.
