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Game Developer Ubisoft Slides amid Muted Reception for 'Star Wars Outlaws'

A view of the Ubisoft Entertainment logo on a panel during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Saint-Mande, near Paris, France, September 8, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A view of the Ubisoft Entertainment logo on a panel during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Saint-Mande, near Paris, France, September 8, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Game Developer Ubisoft Slides amid Muted Reception for 'Star Wars Outlaws'

A view of the Ubisoft Entertainment logo on a panel during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Saint-Mande, near Paris, France, September 8, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A view of the Ubisoft Entertainment logo on a panel during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Saint-Mande, near Paris, France, September 8, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares in French video game maker Ubisoft fell on Tuesday for a second consecutive day following a sluggish performance of its two recent releases, including the long-awaited "Star Wars Outlaws".

The shares, which closed 5.1% lower on Monday, were down 2.4% by 1114 GMT, trading at their lowest levels since 2015 and adding to their over 30% drop since the start of the year.

The decline was driven by a muted reception of Star Wars Outlaws, released on Friday, which follows lower than expected interest for the company's free-to-play game Xdefiant, said Midcap Partners analyst Charles-Louis Planade, Reuters reported.

The Outlaws premiere was one of the two big major game releases Ubisoft had slated for this year, with Assasin's Creed Shadows scheduled for release on Nov. 15.

After four years of negative cash flows amid game cancellations and delays, the family-owned company has been betting on these releases to support its financial recovery.

Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet said in July that Ubisoft expected the launch of Outlaws to boost net bookings in the July-September quarter.

Despite an overall positive reception by critics, Star Wars Outlaws had a "generally unfavorable" users' score of 4.9 out of 10 on review aggregation website Metacritic as of Tuesday.

"Star Wars Outlaws has struggled to meet our sales expectations despite positive critical reviews," J.P.Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven said in a note.

The game's development budget was at least 30% higher than that of Assasin's Creed Mirage, released last year, while data from video game live-streaming platform Twitch suggested it was underperforming AC Mirage by about 15%, Kerven added.

Kerven also lowered his sales expectations for Outlaws by 2 million units, to 5.5 million units in the year through March 2025.

Planade added that after a strong initial interest for Xdefiant, a first-person shooter game launched in May, there has been a sharp decline in Twitch viewership, and the game would likely have a minimal impact on Ubisoft's results over the next few quarters.

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Tech Market Values Fall on AI Costs and Recession Fears; Eli Lilly, Berkshire Gain

]The logo for Google is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
]The logo for Google is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Tech Market Values Fall on AI Costs and Recession Fears; Eli Lilly, Berkshire Gain

]The logo for Google is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
]The logo for Google is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Market values of major tech firms declined in August amid concerns over escalating artificial intelligence infrastructure costs and rising recession risks that would make the stocks particularly vulnerable during a market correction.

Last month, Alphabet Inc's lost 4.7% of its market value as a slowdown in YouTube's advertising sales fuelled concerns about its earnings. A US judge's ruling that Google had violated antitrust laws and the emergence of new competition from OpenAI, which is developing an AI-based search engine prototype, also contributed to its shares' decline.

Amazon.com Inc's market value fell 4.5%, affected by slowing online sales.

Tesla's market capitalisation fell 7.7% last month after weaker Q2 earnings and following the news that Canada planned a new 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Reuters reported.

The world's most valuable automaker started shipping Shanghai-made EV's to Canada last year and Ottawa's plans raised concerns about the potential profit impact of exporting from its higher-cost US production base.

Meanwhile, Nvidia's market value fell in the last week of August by 7.7% to $2.92 trillion, after it projected third-quarter gross margins below market estimates and reported revenues that only met expectations, disappointing investors who were expecting a stronger performance.

Nvidia, which commands more than 80% of the AI chip market, stands in a unique position as both the largest enabler as well as beneficiary of surging AI development.

On a positive note, US drugmaker Eli Lilly's market value surged nearly 20%, leading market gainers, driven by robust sales and the launch of a weight-loss drug that significantly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in overweight adults.

Berkshire Hathaway's market value closed above $1 trillion for the first time at the end of August, reflecting investor confidence in the conglomerate that Warren Buffett built over nearly six decades into what many consider a proxy for the US economy.

Meta's market value also climbed nearly 10% after it beat market expectations for its second-quarter revenues and forecast strong revenue growth in the July-September quarter, indicating that strong digital ad spending on its platforms could offset the costs of its AI investments.