2022 was not a great year for Ubisoft. The French game publisher suffered from a number of controversies while also releasing a rather small list of games. Unfortunately, what few titles they did release did not perform well, with Ubisoft commenting on their relative lack of success.

As part of a report released by the publisher, Ubisoft revealed that one of their biggest 2022 titles – Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope – did not sell as well as they were expecting, with Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot releasing a statement, saying:

“We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance. We are facing contrasted market dynamics as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and everlasting live games, in the context of worsening economic conditions affecting consumer spending.”

He continued, “Despite excellent ratings and players’ reception as well as an ambitious marketing plan, we were surprised by Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope underperformance in the final weeks of 2022 and early January. Just Dance 2023 underperformed as well. Therefore, with the approval of the Board of Directors, we are taking additional important strategic and operational decisions today. It is key to continue adapting our organization, to further strengthen our execution and to ensure we both deliver amazing games to players as well as great value creation.”

As mentioned by Guillemot, Sparks of Hope was received well by both critics and fans alike, with the strategy game sequel generally agreed upon as being better than the first. That said, the Nintendo Switch is certainly showing its age, and so perhaps that factor contributed to this underperformance. It will be interesting to see whether the game makes a 180 turn at some point in 2023. We will have to wait and see.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Yves’ statement? Did you buy Sparks of Hope? How does it compare in your opinion to the first game? Let us know down below,

Become a Patron!