Gaming IndustryUbisoft’s slump continues: Star Wars Outlaws fails to turn things around, XDefiant numbers are sliding, and we still don’t know where The Sands of Time isWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Gaming IndustryUbisoft’s slump continues: Star Wars Outlaws fails to turn things around, XDefiant numbers are sliding, and we still don’t know where The Sands of Time isWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Star Wars Outlaws key art

“As we progress through FY25, all our efforts are focused on successfully launching our promising new releases and positioning them as long-lasting value drivers for Ubisoft while continuing the transformation of our organization,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. “We are excited about the future and confident in the sustained progress of our turnaround throughout the year.”

But aReutersreport says sales of Star Wars Outlaws are “sluggish,” quoting JP Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven as saying that the game “has struggled to meet our sales expectations despite positive critical reviews.” Kerven also lowered his sales expectations for Star Wars Outlaws through the end of March 2025 from 7.5 million units to 5.5 million.

Investors seem very disappointed about Star Wars Outlaws' sales numbers and let Ubisoft stock crash.Shares lost over 10% combined in the last 2 days, so the company just slipped to under €2B in market cap in Paris.Ubisoft is almost at a 10-year low. pic.twitter.com/pxpicUl8CzSeptember 3, 2024

Investors seem very disappointed about Star Wars Outlaws' sales numbers and let Ubisoft stock crash.Shares lost over 10% combined in the last 2 days, so the company just slipped to under €2B in market cap in Paris.Ubisoft is almost at a 10-year low. pic.twitter.com/pxpicUl8CzSeptember 3, 2024

(Image credit: TwitchTracker)

TwitchTracker page showing XDefiant historical viewership numbers as of September 4 2024

2020 also saw allegations of widespreadsexual misconduct and harassmentat the company, sparking an investigation and promise of a “structural shift” to address workplace toxicity. That resulted in the resignation or removal of multiple executives at the company, includingSerge Hascoët, Tommy François, vice presidentMaxime Beland, managing director of Ubisoft’s Canadian studios Yannis Mallat, and global head of human resources Cécile Cornet—but not, notably, Guillemot, who pointed the finger at other employees he said had “betrayed the trust” he placed in them. Guillemot remains at the head of Ubisoft.

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Ubisoft has also made bad bets on broader technology within the gaming world. Its earlyNFT dabblingin Ghost Recon Breakpoint was abust(although it’s not ready to give up on the idea of “digital ownership” just yet—somewhat ironic for a company that also says people should get comfortable with the idea ofnot owning their games) and earlier this year it announced aslowdown on VR game developmentfollowing disappointing sales of Assassins' Creed Nexus.

The net result is a company that’s not in a great place.Seeking Alphaanalyst Oliver Rodzianko said in August that Ubisoft’s valuation “reflects skepticism due to historical underperformance and modest revenue projections,” although he also believes the company was overvalued when its share price was riding high between 2017 and 2022.

Whatever the case, it’s clear the performance of Star Wars Outlaws isn’t going to do much to return Ubisoft to those lofty heights. Assassin’s Creed Shadows has the potential to be a major hit but with no major releases locked in for its 2025 year beyond that, it seems unlikely that a Ubisoft bounceback is going to happen anytime soon.

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PRODUCTSStar Wars OutlawsXDefiant

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