Watch Dog Ships 9 Million Copies, Helping Ubisoft Sales Rise Sharply

Ubisoft's open-world action game Watch Dogs has now shipped more than 9 million copies (up from 8 million in July) since its release in May for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. The Wii U version of Watch Dogs will be released on November 18.

Two-thirds of total Watch Dogs sales came from the Xbox One, PS4, and PC versions, Ubisoft said.

The French publisher announced the new sales milestone today as part of an earnings report for the six-month period ended September 30. During the period, Ubisoft posted sales of €484.2 million ($611.3 million), up 65.1 percent compared to the €293.3 million ($369.9 million) the company posted in net sales this period last year.

Ubisoft posted a profit of €17.1 million ($21.6 million), a huge improvement over the loss of €62.1 million ($78.4 million) last year.

During the six-month period, Ubisoft saw a 90.4 percent spike in digital revenue, which totaled €134.7 million ($169.8 million), or 27.8 percent of total sales for the term. Success in this area was driven by Ubisoft's digital distribution, mobile operations, and sales of DLC and other in-game items.

Also contributing to Ubisoft's bottom line during the period was back catalog sales of €113.7 million ($143.4 million), fueled by Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Far Cry 3, and Rayman Legends.

For the three-month quarter ended September 30, Ubisoft posted revenue of €124.1 million ($156.7 million), which is down 42.9 percent compared to €217.7 million ($274.6 million) a year ago.

"The very strong momentum we saw at the beginning of the fiscal year carried on into the second quarter and enabled us to once again exceed our performance expectations," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement. "Ubisoft continued to capitalize on the popularity of new consoles, the successful launch of Watch Dogs, the quality of its back catalog, and the considerable growth of the digital segment. Consequently, our operating income and cash flows improved significantly during the period."

Ubisoft also confirmed today that 2012's Far Cry 3 has shipped 10 million units to date, 6 million of which came in the first year. The publisher said it expects Far Cry 4 to sell more than 6 million in the first year. As for racing game, The Crew, Ubisoft said it is expecting it to sell 2 million units.

Looking ahead, Ubisoft has a number of marquee titles for this holiday and beyond, including Assassin's Creed Unity, Assassin's Creed Rogue, Far Cry 4, and The Crew. Just last week, the company launched the latest entry in another one of its powerhouse franchises, Just Dance 2015.