Ubi takes â?¬62.1m studio ‘overhaul’ hit

Ubisoft has reorganised its studios, the firm said in its half-year financial earnings statement today.

Although exact details were not provided, the publisher said it was "reorganizing the roles and operations of its studios" so it could "adapt its structure to the major changes in the industry".

That means the "termination of certain projects" as the publisher looks towards new platforms and technologies.

That means a one-time organisational cost of €62.1m, the firm said.

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, explained:"We are continuing to overhaul our studios roles, operations and structures in order to meet the new challenges in our industry and are focused on offering highly innovative and creative products, as well as on enhancing quality levels, releasing new iterations of our major franchises on a more regular basis, providing gamers with an ever-richer online experience and attracting a constantly growing number of casual gamers.

"The outstanding efforts of Ubisoft’s teams in these areas will enable us to fully leverage the numerous opportunities coming up in the high-definition, casual and online segments."

Ceratinly, the publisher has online connected and multiplayer services on its mind – last year it launched the Uplay system, its own bespoke Xbox Live-style gamer network that runs through all its games on all platforms.

And earlier this month it confirmed it had acquired Canadian game technology Quazal, which provided the backbone tech for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood’s new online multiplayer elements.

Ubisoft also launched an Assassin’s Creed Facebook title last month as well, and reported in its financials that sales of digital download game had doubled over the last six months.