'Far Cry New Dawn' Is The Latest Victim of Ubisoft's Churning Strategy

Far Cry New Dawn debuted at number one in last week's UK retail sales chart, but don't let that mislead you: the game is bombing.

Last week was the most competitive week in gaming this year, with the likes of Crackdown 3, Far Cry New Dawn, Jump Force, and Metro Exodus all releasing. In other words, it was a bloodbath, one that Far Cry seemingly came out of on top.

However, while Far Cry New Dawn managed to top the UK retail sales chart for the week, its launch week sales were down a hefty 86.5 percent from Far Cry 5. That said, Far Cry 5 was a big, numbered Far Cry release, so perhaps it's a little unfair to compare New Dawn to it. Fair enough. But New Dawn's debut sales also don't look good compared to the first week sales of the last Far Cry spin-off game, Primal, which outsold New Dawn four to one.

If you'd like, you can view the top 10 best-selling games in the UK, at retail, last week below. It's worth pointing out that Crackdown 3 failed to even chart, while Metro Exodus saw a substantial increase in first week sales compared to its predecessors and Jump Force also had a decent debut for a fighting a game.

1. Far Cry New Dawn
2. Metro: Exodus
3. Red Dead Redemption 2
4. Jump Force
5. FIFA 19
6. Resident Evil 2
7. New Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
8. Kingdom Hearts 3
9. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

Circling back to Far Cry New Dawn, it's worth noting that each year retail sales decrease as the digital market grows. However, the decline in retail sales doesn't even come close to conceptually subsidizing the huge drop-off in sales Far Cry New Dawn had. Far Cry 5 was the best-selling game in the series to date, and so you'd think New Dawn would ride that wave to healthy numbers itself, especially since it positioned itself as a sequel of sorts.

To come way under Far Cry 5 would be one thing, but to be outsold by Far Cry Primal -- a game that had a very middling reception and is considered the weakest entry in the series -- four to one is not good.

So, what happened? Well, for one, Far Cry New Dawn isn't that good. In fact, it released to the lowest review scores in series' history, which is never going to convince people to break out their wallets. So, this certainly contributed to the massive sales decline, as well as the general dip in retail sales all together.

But one of the most reoccurring things I've seen about the game on the Internet is either people being surprised or displeased that in less than a year, and after a run of DLC, Ubisoft is back with yet another Far Cry game. Ubisoft is known for its churn, especially with series like Assassin's Creed, but this time people seem particularly not having it.

Far Cry New Dawn is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If you haven't already, be sure to check out our review of the game to find out what we thought about the latest adventure in the series.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.