Ubisoft shares nosedive after Watch Dogs delay

Ubisoft shares plummeted today after the company announced the delay of Watch Dogs and The Crew. At press time, shares are trading down more than 25 percent.

According to Bloomberg, shares fell as much as 32 percent, the most since the company debuted on the Paris stock exchange in 1996.

"We made a choice that will pay off in the long run," CEO Yves Guillemot said. "The market has changed--we need huge blockbusters, and that means making very high-quality games."

As a result of the two game delays, Ubisoft expects to book an operating loss between €40 million ($54 million) and €70 million ($95 million) for the year ending in March 2014.

Another announcement that may have spooked investors was that Rayman Legends and Splinter Cell: Blacklist failed to meet commercial expectations.

Ubisoft said it chose to delay Watch Dogs for extra polish and fine-tuning. The extra development time will allow the game to have "far bigger potential," according to Guillemot.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Guillemot went as far to say Watch Dogs "could be as big as Assassin's Creed, even bigger. It's a great opportunity to increase our market share."

Ubisoft expects Watch Dogs to sell more than 6 million units when it is released.