LONDON — A delay in any product can hurt a company’s bottom line. But for a video game maker, the pain of delaying a potential blockbuster is even more acute.

That was evidenced on Wednesday when shares of the French video game maker Ubisoft fell more than 26 percent after the company announced it was postponing a major new game to improve its quality.

The game, Watch Dogs, has had early comparisons to the successful Grand Theft Auto franchise from one of Ubisoft’s rivals, Take-Two Interactive. The game had been expected to be introduced by the end of the year, when next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony are due.

But because of delays in completing the game’s immersive, interactive environment, Ubisoft, which makes the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, said late Tuesday that it would delay the introduction of Watch Dogs until June 2014.