The launch of Star Wars Outlaws was anticipated to be a pivotal moment for Ubisoft, yet the game has reportedly fallen short in sales, contributing to a decline in the company's share price last week.
Ubisoft Aims to Recover with Star Wars Outlaws and AC Shadows
Company Share Price Experienced Consecutive Declines Last Week
Star Wars Outlaws was positioned by Ubisoft as a major release aimed at bolstering its financial standing. Despite garnering positive feedback from critics, the game has not met sales expectations, leading to a drop in Ubisoft's share price on September 3.
Ubisoft had high hopes for Star Wars Outlaws, alongside another anticipated title, Assassin’s Creed Shadows (AC Shadows), viewing them as key "value drivers" for long-term growth. In their first-quarter 2024-25 sales report, Ubisoft emphasized their commitment to these titles, expecting them to significantly enhance their financial outlook.
In the Q1 2024-25 sales report, Ubisoft stated their focus on successfully launching these promising new releases, Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows, to establish them as enduring value drivers while continuing to transform their organization. The company also reported a 15% increase in session days across consoles and PCs, primarily driven by Games-as-a-Service, with monthly active users (MAUs) rising by 7% year-on-year to 38 million.
Sales of Star Wars Outlaws have been described as "sluggish." According to a Reuters report, J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven noted that Star Wars Outlaws "struggled to meet our sales expectations despite positive critical reviews." Consequently, Kerven revised his sales forecast for the game down from 7.5 million units to 5.5 million units by March 2025.
Following the release of Star Wars Outlaws on August 30, Ubisoft’s shares fell for the second consecutive day on September 3, decreasing by 5.1% on Monday and another 2.4% by Tuesday morning. This drop brought the shares to their lowest levels since 2015, contributing to a more than 30% decline since the beginning of the year.
Despite favorable critic reviews, Star Wars Outlaws has not connected as well with players. As of now, it holds a user score of just 4.5 out of 10 on Metacritic. Conversely, Game8 has rated Star Wars Outlaws at 90/100, praising it as "an exceptional game that does justice to the Star Wars franchise." For a deeper dive into our thoughts on Star Wars Outlaws, visit our review at the link below!
