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LONDON — Shares in Ubisoft, the French video game maker behind the popular Assassin's Creed franchise, fell as much as 30 percent on Wednesday after it announced a one-year delay in the release of two forthcoming titles.

Ubisoft, based on the outskirts of Paris, said it had pushed back the release of Watch Dogs, a first-person game set in Chicago, and The Crew, a car racing franchise. The delay will cause the French technology company to report an operating loss for the 12 months through April 2014, according to a statement released late on Tuesday. The games will now be released by April 2015.

In total, Ubisoft said that it now expected to post an annual loss up to 70 million euros, or $95 million, compared to a previous profit target of up to 125 million euros.

"The tough decisions we are taking today to fully realize the major potential of our new creations have an impact on our short-term performance," Ubisoft's chief executive, Yves Guillemot, said in a statement. "The additional time given to the development of our titles will allow them to fulfill their huge ambitions."

Investors revolted, and Ubisoft's share price was down 26 percent in afternoon trading in Paris. The company's share price had risen around 24 percent over the past 12 months.

Ubisoft is one of the few French companies to compete in the global video game world against the likes of Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Nintendo, a field increasingly dominated by blockbuster releases like Call of Duty from Activision Blizzard.

Ubisoft was founded by Mr. Guillemot in 1986 and now employs more than 8,000 people worldwide, including around 2,500 at a production studio in Montreal.

The French company is best known for Assassin's Creed, whose next installment is due to be released in early November. The last version sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and Assassin's Creed is expected to be turned into a Hollywood movie during 2015.

The blending of video games with the wider entertainment industry underscores how important new releases have become to companies like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.

Revenue for the global video game industry is expected to rise 5 percent, to $66 billion, by the end of 2013, according to the data provider DFC Intelligence.