(Reuters) -Ubisoft, the maker of the blockbuster “Assassin’s Creed” video game franchise, on Thursday reported quarterly net bookings in the mid-range of its own targets and said it expected “strong growth” in the current quarter.

Net bookings of titles from Ubisoft’s back catalogue rose to 340.8 million euros in October-December – the company’s third quarter – from 308.5 million euros a year earlier, driven by “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla”, which premiered in November, and “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey”, it said.

“Far Cry 6”, which premiered in October, saw more playtime per player than its predecessor in the franchise, Ubisoft said.

“Q4 will see very strong growth with very dynamic back-catalogue trends, high-quality new releases, partnerships and significant post-launch content delivery throughout our brands,” Chief Executive Yves Guillemot said in a statement.

The Paris-listed games publisher reported net bookings of 746.1 million euros ($848.09 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to the 725-780 million euros it had guided for.

Net bookings cover sales of products and services sold digitally or sold physically as well as revenue from licence fees and other agreements.

Though Ubisoft saw record bookings in 2020 as gamers stayed home during coronavirus lockdowns, health restrictions also slowed down production across the industry, leading to the company delaying several titles and cutting its full-year outlook in October 2021.

In the third quarter of 2020/21, Ubisoft had reported 1 billion euros in net bookings.

($1 = 0.8797 euros)

(Reporting by Valentine Baldassari; Editing by Jan Harvey and Susan Fenton)