Xbox, Ubisoft showcase upcoming games in company events
“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.
NEW RELEASES:
This week’s major release is Electronic Arts’ (EA) racing sim “F1 23,” which launches June 16 for PC, PlayStation 4 (SONY), PS5, Xbox One (MSFT), and Xbox Series X/S.
MICROSOFT/ACTIVISION:
Last weekend, Reuters reported that Activision Blizzard (ATVI) has been given permission to intervene in Microsoft’s legal battle with Britain’s antitrust regulator over its decision to block the $69B takeover. Microsoft is appealing against the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to veto the deal, which it did in April on the grounds it could hurt competition in the nascent cloud gaming market, the publication noted. Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s Leah Nylen and Anna Edgerton reported yesterday that the Federal Trade Commission is suing Microsoft in federal court, seeking to block the deal from closing until its trial resolution in August. The FTC plans to seek a court order blocking the transaction until the agency’s in-house court has a chance to rule on the deal, a source told Bloomberg.
Following news of the FTC suit, Microsoft President Brad Smith took to Twitter, saying, “Today’s action by the FTC to file suit in our Activision case in federal court should accelerate the decision-making process. This benefits everyone. We always prefer constructive and amicable paths with governments but have confidence in our case and look forward to presenting it.”
SUMMER GAME FEST:
Though E3 2023 was cancelled, a number of major gaming publishers and sector groups have hosted their own showcases, during which companies announce new upcoming titles and provide updates on other previously-announced games. Kicking off these separate events was Thursday’s Summer Game Fest, hosted by The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley, during which Ubisoft (UBSFY) started the show with the full reveal of “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown,” which will release January 18, 2024. Other notable games shown during SGF were Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) “Mortal Kombat 1,” Capcom’s (CCOEY) “Exoprimal,” Sega’s (SGAMY) “Sonic Superstars,” and Square Enix’s (SQNXF) “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” which was given a release window of early 2024.
Several days later, Microsoft hosted its Xbox & Bethesda showcase on Sunday, which included an hour of general game announcements followed by a 50-minute presentation dedicated entirely to the upcoming release of Xbox Series X/S exclusive “Starfield,” which is slated for a September 6, 2023 release. During the main event, Xbox provided updates on upcoming Xbox games such as “Forza Motorsport,” “Avowed,” “Fable,” and “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II,” and then also announced a number of brand new exclusive titles, including “South of Midngiht,” “Clockwork Revolution,” and “Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.” Additionally, several third-party publishers made major announcements during the show, including Ubisoft providing a story trailer for upcoming open-world title “Star Wars: Outlaws,” Atlus unveiling “Metaphor: ReFantazio” and “Persona 3 Reload,” and Capcom showcasing action game “Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.”
A day later, Ubisoft hosted its own Forward showcase event, where it mostly provided updates on previously announced titles, including “Assassin’s Creed Mirage,” “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora,” and “Tom Clancy’s XDefiant.” Of note, the “Avatar” game will release December 7, 2023, while “Mirage” will come out October 12. Additionally, Ubisoft unveiled gameplay footage of “Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR,” the first virtual reality title in the franchise set to release on Meta Quest (META) and announced that the “Star Wars” game first showcased at the Xbox event will release in 2024.
GAMESTOP:
Despite a surprise beat in its previous quarter, GameStop (GME) last week announced lower-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue, with the company saying that its board of directors named Ryan Cohen as executive chairman and terminated the employment of CEO Matt Furlong. Following the news, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter lowered the firm’s price target on GameStop and maintained an Underperform rating on GameStop, saying the company last night delivered another “lackluster” quarter, with disappointing sales and modest losses. The analyst said he remains convinced that GameStop is “doomed, with declining physical software sales and a shift of sales to subscription services and digital downloads sealing its fate.” Pachter also believes the lack of clear direction and the “callous termination” of Furlong all but ensures Ryan Cohen “will have difficulty attracting a qualified replacement.”
OTHER STORIES TO WATCH:
- U.S. video game subscription spending growth is stalling, says Circana analyst Mat Piscatella [read more]
- Capcom said that 2021 game “Resident Evil Village” has passed 8M units sold [read more]
- Blizzard’s “Diablo IV” crossed $666M in global sell-through in the first five days following its June 6 launch [read more]
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Originally Posted June 13, 2023 – What You Missed This Week in Video Games
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