Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Sales "Undershot" Expectations for Square Enix
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy was a very pleasant surprise in 2021. Developed by Eidos-Montreal, the game received widespread critical praise, winning numerous Game of the Year awards. Unfortunately, that acclaim did not result in equally strong sales; according to Square Enix's third quarter financial results, the game "undershot" the publisher's expectations when it launched last October. It's always disappointing to see a good game fail to find an audience, but it seems sales have started to improve, and Square Enix is not giving up on it.
"The HD Games sub-segment launched 'Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy' in Q3. Despite strong reviews, the game's sales on launch undershot our initial expectations. However, sales initiatives that we kicked off in November 2021 and continuedinto the new year have resulted in sales growth, and we intend to work to continue to expand sales to make up for the title's slow start," the financial results read.
It's difficult to say exactly why the game has struggled to find an audience. Prior to the launch of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the game drew a lot of unfair comparisons to Marvel's Avengers. Upon its release in 2020, Marvel's Avengers received mixed critical reception and also undershot sales expectations. While the two games are both published by Square Enix, they have different developers and different styles of gameplay. Comparisons between the two games prior to release could have hurt early sales, before Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy started to receive as many accolades. It's also possible that the game was hurt by timing, given that more than four years have passed since the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Regardless of reasoning, hopefully, Square Enix will convince more gamers to try out Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, which can be found on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Readers interested in learning more about the game can check out our previous coverage right here.
Have you picked up Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy? Are you disappointed the game has struggled to find an audience? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!