Assassin's Creed: Revelations ships 7 million

Ubisoft had a happy holiday. The publisher today announced that sales for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011, came in at €652 million ($852 million), up 8.8 percent from the €600 million ($784 million) it took home during the same period last year.

During the holiday months, Ubisoft shipped 13 million Just Dance franchise units, as well as nearly 7 million copies of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, which went on sale in November.

Ubisoft also offered financial information on a larger model, saying for the first nine months of fiscal 2011, sales came in at €900 million ($1.17 billion), up 4.5 percent from the €861 million ($1.12 billion) taken in during the same period a year ago.

Ubisoft did not offer specific figures for its online sector, but it did say the segment had posted significant growth during the period. Online sales were up 159 percent, the publisher said, thanks to browser games Settlers Online and Howrse, as well as "robust" performance through digital distribution

Ubisoft said sales during its fourth quarter 2011 are expected to come in at between €150 million ($196 million) and €180 million ($235 million), due in part to fewer game releases, as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.

As for the company's full-year 2011 forecast, Ubisoft said it expects to haul between €1,050 million ($1.37 billion) and €1,080 million ($1.4 billion), with operating income coming in at between €45 million ($59 million) and €65 million ($85 million).

Ubisoft is expecting an even bigger full-year 2012, though it did not set specific fiscal targets it plans on reaching during the period. The publisher said its upcoming year will be healthy due to the "ramp up" of core games, which includes a "strong comeback" in the shooter genre.

Ubisoft has a number of shooters on its plate for 2012, including Far Cry 3, Brothers in Arms: Furious Four, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, and Ghost Recon: Online.

[CORRECTION] The original version of this story reported shipment figures for Just Dance and Assassin's Creed: Revelations as sold-through units. GameSpot regrets the error.