Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws Underperforms, Impacting Share Price
Ubisoft's highly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, intended as a financial turnaround for the company, has reportedly underperformed in sales, causing a dip in Ubisoft's share price. Despite positive critical reception, sales have been described as sluggish.
Falling Short of Expectations
Ubisoft had positioned Star Wars Outlaws, along with Assassin's Creed Shadows, as key drivers of future growth in its Q1 2024-25 sales report. However, J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven lowered his sales projection for Star Wars Outlaws from 7.5 million units to 5.5 million units by March 2025, citing weaker-than-expected sales despite positive reviews.
Share Price Decline
Following the game's August 30th release, Ubisoft's share price experienced a significant two-day drop, falling 5.1% on Monday, September 3rd, and an additional 2.4% by Tuesday morning. This marks the lowest share price since 2015, adding to a year-to-date decline of over 30%.
Mixed Player Reception
While critics generally praised the game, player reception has been more mixed, reflected in a 4.5/10 user score on Metacritic. This contrasts with more positive reviews from outlets like Game8, which awarded a 90/100 rating.
Despite the setbacks with Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft reported a 15% increase in console and PC session days, largely attributed to Games-as-a-Service titles. Monthly active users (MAUs) also saw a 7% year-on-year increase to 38 million. The company's future performance will depend heavily on the success of Assassin's Creed Shadows and its continued growth in the Games-as-a-Service sector.
