Ubisoft shares take a beating in wake of Watch Dogs delay

Ubisoft isn't sitting pretty after its recent announcement that its next-gen flagship title, Watch Dogs, would be delayed until 2014, as much of its near-future earnings were locked up in that hacking sandbox. At least that's what shareholders must have been thinking, as Ubisoft's stock has dropped 26 per cent since the announcement.

While Watch Dogs was certainly lining up to be one of the biggest titles of the year, it's not like it's Ubisoft's only offering for the last quarter. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is still on track for an end of October release and if anything, has a little more breathing room now that Watch Dogs has been pushed back.

Unless of course Ubisoft really does have super hacking tech and did this to itself?

However, Black Flag wasn't shown off as much as Watch Dogs throughout this year, with much of its aesthetics and gameplay twinned with the power of the next-gen consoles. Now that Watch Dogs won't be available as a release game, it may damage the launch of both the PS4 and Xbox One, as well as Ubisoft's value.

The blame can't all be placed on Watch Dogs shoulders though, as open-world racer, The Crew, was also pushed back to 2014. This was announced alongside news that Rayman: Legends and Splinter Cell: Blacklist didn't sell as well as expected. With a combination of news that some of the biggest products have been pushed back, along with unexpectedly low earnings reports, it's no wonder Ubisoft share holders are a little gun shy.

KitGuru Says: While I'm sure Ubisoft will bounce back from this, we live in a post-THQ world, where big, long time publishers can fold, so who knows, really. 

[Thanks GamesIndustry]

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