Star Wars Outlaws Sales Slump Predicted

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws: A Sales Disappointment Despite Critical Acclaim

Ubisoft's highly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, intended as a financial turnaround for the company, has reportedly underperformed in sales, causing a significant dip in Ubisoft's share price. This follows a week of consecutive declines, leaving the stock at its lowest point since 2015.

The game, launched on August 30th, received generally positive critical reviews. However, player reception has been less enthusiastic, reflected in a low 4.5/10 user score on Metacritic. This contrasts sharply with more positive assessments from some outlets, such as Game8's 90/100 rating.

Ubisoft's Q1 2024-25 sales report highlighted Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows as key titles for future growth. The company emphasized their importance as long-term value drivers in their efforts to restructure financially. While the report noted a 15% increase in session days across consoles and PC, driven largely by Games-as-a-Service, the underwhelming sales of Star Wars Outlaws have dampened investor confidence.

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 "sluggish" performance despite the positive critical reception. This disappointing sales figure, coupled with the negative market reaction, casts a shadow over Ubisoft's financial prospects. The company’s shares experienced a 5.1% drop on Monday, September 3rd, followed by a further 2.4% decline on Tuesday. This adds to an overall decline of over 30% since the beginning of the year.

The discrepancy between critical acclaim and user reception raises questions about the game's market appeal and Ubisoft's future strategies. The company will likely need a strong performance from Assassin's Creed Shadows to offset the impact of Star Wars Outlaws' underperformance.