French publishing giant Ubisoft has reported that a record 141 million people played its games during the 12 months ending March 31st, 2021.

In its financial release for the period, the firm said that his was a 20 per cent increase year-on-year. Ubisoft also clocked up €2.24 billion ($2.7 billion) in net bookings for fiscal 2020/21, a 46.1 per cent increase year-on-year.

The publisher also says that its flagship Assassin's Creed franchise brought in 50 per cent more revenue in 2020/21 than the previous record it set back in 2012/13, no doubt thanks to the rather impressive launch of Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

"Our teams demonstrated incredible resilience during a challenging year, delivering amazing games and experiences," CEO Yves Guillemot said.

"We also relied on a deep and diversified back-catalog which, again, outperformed our expectations and represented for the third consecutive year more than 50 per cent of our total net bookings, progressively cementing the recurring profile of our business. Our assets have never been so strong. Alongside these successes, we have pursued the transformation of our organisation that we had initiated 18 months ago to ensure Ubisoft is positioned to meaningfully grow audience and recurring revenues over the coming years. We have also implemented profound changes to ensure the continued development of an inclusive working environment where our talents can thrive and deliver the game experiences that players will love and share.”

The company's first-party releases are going to be called Ubisoft Originals moving forward.