Over the past few days, rumors have circulated around the gaming industry that Marvel’s Avengers sold well below Square Enix’s expectations, which led to a disappointing financial quarter for the publisher. Now, an official transcript of a Square Enix investor briefing confirms that the game underperformed, which resulted in the publisher’s HD Games division posting an overall loss.
“The HD Games sub-segment posted an operating loss as initial sales of Marvel’s Avengers were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game’s development costs,” a portion of the briefing reads. “In the second half of the fiscal year, we hope to make up for slow initial sales by offering ample additional content to grow our sales.”
In a Q&A, one investor estimated the operating loss of the HD Games division in Q2 of this year as around 7 billion yen, which is roughly $67 million. The company attributed the game’s slow sales in part to marketing delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about the volatility of the HD Games division, Square Enix replied that it considers the totality of its Digital Entertainment segment rather than the HD Games division in isolation by using stable income from MMOs and mobile games to offset potential losses of big-budget games like Avengers.
Marvel’s Avengers will soon receive new DLC that will add Kate Bishop to the game, with Clint Barton coming in 2021. Perhaps that will spur some sales that will help Square Enix offset the game’s development costs. A recent update to the game added an AI ping system to make guiding your companions easier. A full next-gen upgrade for Marvel’s Avengers is coming next year for free as well.
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