Star Wars 'Outlaws' Projected to Drop

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws Underperforms, Impacting Share Price

Ubisoft's highly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, intended as a financial turnaround point, has reportedly underperformed in sales, causing a dip in the company's share price. Despite positive critical reception, sales have been described as sluggish, leading to consecutive declines in Ubisoft's stock last week.

The company had pinned its hopes on Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows (AC Shadows) as key drivers for long-term growth, highlighting them in its Q1 2024-25 sales report. While Ubisoft reported a 15% increase in session days across consoles and PC, primarily due to Games-as-a-Service, and a 7% year-on-year rise in monthly active users (MAUs) to 38 million, the underwhelming performance of Star Wars Outlaws overshadowed these positive metrics.

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 the game's struggle to meet expectations.

Ubisoft's share price fell 5.1% on Monday, September 3rd, and a further 2.4% by Tuesday morning, reaching its lowest point since 2015 and adding to a year-to-date decline exceeding 30%.

The discrepancy between critical acclaim and player reception is notable. While critics generally praised the game, user reviews on Metacritic average a mere 4.5 out of 10. Conversely, Game8 awarded Star Wars Outlaws a 90/100 rating, deeming it an exceptional addition to the Star Wars universe. For a more detailed perspective, consult our full review (link omitted). The game's future performance and its impact on Ubisoft's overall financial strategy remain to be seen.