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.

Share Price Decline

The game's underperformance, coupled with hopes pinned on the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows (AC Shadows), contributed to a consecutive two-day drop in Ubisoft's share price last week. Shares fell 5.1% on Monday, September 3rd, and a further 2.4% by Tuesday morning, reaching their lowest point since 2015. This adds to an overall share price drop of over 30% since the beginning of the year.

Sales Projections Revised Downward

J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven revised his sales projections for Star Wars Outlaws from 7.5 million units to 5.5 million units through March 2025, citing the game's struggle to meet initial expectations despite positive reviews.

Ubisoft's Q1 2024-25 sales report highlighted the importance of Star Wars Outlaws and AC Shadows as long-term value drivers for the company's financial transformation. While the report noted a 15% increase in session days and a 7% year-on-year rise in monthly active users (MAUs) to 38 million, driven largely by Games-as-a-Service titles, the Star Wars Outlaws sales figures appear to be a significant setback.

Mixed Player Reception

While critics generally praised the game, player reception has been more mixed, reflected in a Metacritic user score of 4.5 out of 10. Conversely, Game8 awarded the game a 90/100 rating, hailing it as an exceptional Star Wars title. For a more detailed perspective, you can read our full review [link to review].