Square Enix has released some new financial results for its first three quarters of Fiscal Year 2022-23, something companies like EA and Activision Blizzard did earlier this month, and in it, the company reveals that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy did not meet sales expectations.
This news comes alongside Square Enix revealing in its quarterly results that its net sales were lower this year than the same period in the previous fiscal year, which saw the release of titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Marvel’s Avengers on new-gen consoles. Speaking specifically to the release of Eidos-Montreal’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Square Enix acknowledges that it reviewed quite well – Game Informer gave it a 8.5 out of 10. However, it underperformed financially.
“The HD Games sub-segment launched ‘Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy’ in Q3,” the results read. “Despite strong reviews, the game’s sales on launch undershot our initial expectations.”
Square Enix says that it has been using sales initiatives that it kicked off in November of 2021 to increase sales and the company intends to “work to continue to expand sales to make up for the title’s slow start.”
Hopefully, those sales can get Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy up to expectations, and even past it, because it certainly warrants a sequel that we’d like to see. For now, read Game Informer’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy review and then check out these Adidas sneakers inspired by the game. Read about this patch that added ray-tracing to the game after that.
Do you want a sequel to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy? Let us know in the comments below!
Up to 69% off
Lenovo Laptops and Gaming PCs
This week Lenovo is having a massive sale across all of its computing lines. Save an additional 5% a receive free shipping with the promo code.
Use the promo code EXTRA5
At this point, it’s starting to seem like Square Enix is impossible to please. Square Enix viewed the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider, the best-selling entry in one of gaming’s most iconic franchises, as a disappointment. In 2017, Square pulled out of IO Interactive’s Hitman series of stealth puzzlers; the latest game, Hitman 3, published independently, recouped its development costs in a week. In 2020, the lavishly expensive Marvel’s Avengers fell far short of sales targets. Last spring, the co-op shooter Outriders, despite wide reports of busted functionality, took the world by storm, rapidly hitting more than 3.5 million players, with Square even saying it’s “on track to become the company’s next major franchise.” But by August, its developer, People Can Fly, said it had yet to receive any royalties from Square Enix.
In a 2017 interview, Square Enix president Yosuka Matsuda admitted the company’s expectations for Tomb Raider were “extremely high.”
Also in 2017, sources told Kotaku that Square Enix quietly canceled a third entry in the Deus Ex reboot series—made by the same studio responsible for Guardians of the Galaxy—due to the most recent entry, 2016’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, not selling as much as the company expected. Which is possibly an infinite number.