Ubisoft's anticipated Star Wars Outlaws launch failed to meet sales projections, impacting the company's stock performance last week. The game's underperformance, despite positive critical reception, contributed to a decline in Ubisoft's share price.
Ubisoft's Hopes for a Turnaround with Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows
Stock Price Slumps Continue
Ubisoft positioned Star Wars Outlaws as a key title to bolster its financial standing. However, sales have fallen short of expectations, resulting in consecutive share price drops on September 3rd. The company also pinned its hopes on Assassin’s Creed Shadows (AC Shadows) for long-term growth. Their Q1 2024-25 report highlighted these two titles as crucial to their financial recovery strategy.
The Q1 report emphasized the importance of successfully launching Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows, aiming to establish them as enduring assets while continuing the company's ongoing restructuring. Positive data points included a 15% increase in console and PC session days, primarily driven by Games-as-a-Service offerings. Monthly active users (MAUs) reached 38 million, a 7% year-on-year increase.
Star Wars Outlaws sales have been characterized as slow. Reuters reported J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven's lowered sales projection for the game—revised from 7.5 million units to 5.5 million units by March 2025, despite generally positive reviews.
Following Star Wars Outlaws' August 30th release, Ubisoft's shares experienced a second consecutive day of decline on September 3rd, falling 5.1% on Monday and a further 2.4% by Tuesday morning. This drop marked the lowest share price since 2015, adding to a year-to-date decline of over 30%.
While critical reception has been generally positive, player response appears less enthusiastic, reflected in a Metacritic user score of just 4.5 out of 10. In contrast, Game8 awarded Star Wars Outlaws a 90/100 rating, praising it as an excellent addition to the Star Wars universe. For a detailed perspective, read our full review (link below).