Ubisoft’s sales went up 374% in the first quarter

Ubisoft announced its financial results for the fiscal quarter ending on June 30, revealing that it has shipped more than 8 million copies of its hacking-themed sandbox action game Watch Dogs to date. Reporting €360 million in sales for the first quarter of 2014-2015, Ubisoft notes a year-on-year improvement of 374% compared to the €76 million recorded for the same quarter last year. The publisher attributes its growth to the release of Watch Dogs and a strong showing in its digital segment with recent games like Valiant Hearts, Child of Light, and Trials Fusion. Ubisoft previously reported a 32% in year-on-year digital sales for the 2014 fiscal year.

Driven by sales of new-gen games, and the remarkable performance of the brand new IP Watch Dogs, French publisher Ubisoft is reporting record first-quarter sales. “The success of Watch Dogs and the quality of our games portfolio presented at this year’s E3 highlight our strategic positioning as well as our continuous drive for innovation, and affirm our long-term approach,” Yves Guillemot, co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a press release. ”Watch Dogs is now well positioned as a major franchise and we will be able to replicate and build on its success in the coming years.” The sales boost for the first-quarter of the 2014-15 fiscal-year is remarkable, clocking in at €360 million, up 374 percent compared with the €76 million recorded for first-quarter fiscal-year 2013-14. The figure is also notably higher than Ubisoft’s target of €310 million for the quarter. Ubisoft reports digital sales up 149 percent to €84 million, largely driven by mobile, Watch Dogs, and the digital only releases of Child of Light and Valiant Hearts, as well as Trials Fusion. Watch Dogs, a new open-world hacking game, sold 4 million units in its first week and has shipped 8 million units to date.