Featured Image Credit: Square Enix
Topics: Square Enix, Marvel
I’m genuinely curious: was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy anyone’s game of the year, last year? That’s not me trying to drag the game, by the way. After it released in late October, people were generally surprised with how good it actually was - I think following on from the very mixed Marvel’s Avengers, everyone was initially a bit wary of it. In our review, we gave it an 8/10, describing it as “a fun game with a deep story about loss and grief”. It also made the overall GAMINGbible top 10 of 2021.
Unfortunately though, quality doesn’t always mean sales. As reported by Eurogamer, during Square Enix's most recent financial results briefing, representative director Yosuke Matsuda revealed that the game didn’t do as well as they were hoping - which really doesn’t bode well for any sort of follow up in the future.
ICYMI... check out the trailer for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy below.
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Matsuda stated: “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. Sales initiatives that we kicked off in November 2021 and continued into 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.”
So, what exactly went wrong? Often, we can put games underperforming down to a lack of (or poor) advertising, but that doesn’t seem to be the case this time - anyone who tuned in to Square Enix’s E3 presentation last year will remember that there was plenty of Guardians of the Galaxy shown. As Eurogamer notes, though, it did release at a busy time of year in regards to other big titles coming out, with the likes of Metroid Dread and Far Cry 6 dominating the release schedule.
This is unfortunate news for anyone who is a fan of the game, as obviously Square Enix is far less likely to make any sort of follow-up if this current title is falling short of its commercial targets. There is some good news though, in that little bit at the end of the statement about boosting sales further. If Square Enix does want to get the game into more players' hands, we could be seeing some pretty enticing sale prices on offer sometime in the future - or the game could be added to Game Pass, which would certainly add to its popularity and the demand for a sequel, if not its sales bottom line. We’ll just have to wait and see.