Square Enix has confirmed that Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy hasn't met its initial sales expectations. As outlined in its Q3 financial results briefing, the Japanese publisher admitted they'd seen strong reviews but this hadn't translated to sales.
Speaking in this report, Square Enix representative director Yosuke Matsuda offered this statement:
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
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy “Undershot” Initial Expectations, Confirms Square Enix
Despite the largely positive critical reception, Guardians of the Galaxy did have some common criticisms that could've factored into this. This team is notably different from their popular Marvel Cinematic Universe counterparts, while the previous Marvel's Avengers game was widely criticised at launch.
We had strong opinions of the game when it launched last year. Advising it "perfectly balances having a brand new narrative surrounding the misfit team of heroes whilst maintaining their classic characteristics from the Marvel universe," we awarded it 4/5. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch (Cloud Version).