Square Enix claims Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t meet initial expectations

A similar comment was given by Square Enix last year, in regards to their Avengers game, which received mixed reviews upon release, with the president calling it a “disappointment.” It is understandable as to why GOTG failed to meet initial expectations. The game was riding on the coattails of Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers, which received a lot of backlash for lacklustre writing, launch-day glitches, and following a GaaS (Games as a Service) model that heavily relied on monetising in-game content.

The trailer and promotional material for Guardians looked quite similar, and therefore, many players chose to not pre-order and wait until the initial reviews dropped. Square Enix, however, stated that the game made up for lost revenue in the later months, thanks to exclusive sales on different platforms.

“Despite strong reviews, the game’s sales on launch undershot our initial expectations. However, 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,” he said in the briefing.

The report also notes that Final Fantasy XIV experienced “substantial growth,” with several new players coming in and the successful launch of expansion packs for the title. The growth was so exponential that Square Enix had to shut down its free trial for two months, to prevent new players from coming in – partly fueled by the launch of their new ‘Endwalker’ expansion.

The free trials have now been opened up as of yesterday, and allows you to play the entirety of the base ‘A Realm Reborn’ and ‘Heavensward’ story arcs until level 60. There are no time limits either, letting you get the full Final Fantasy XIV experience.

Further down the report, it is stated that Square Enix has multiple new titles planned for launch in Q4.