Despite a somewhat rocky start with sales, Guardians of the Galaxy developer Eidos Montreal is confident the game is still a “great ride.”
In the wake of the game’s 2021 release, Square Enix initially stated that Guardians of the Galaxy’s sales had underperformed. Thanks to numerous award nominations, discounts, and its inclusion on Xbox’s Game Pass, however, its sales have improved since its release.
In the meantime, it has benefited from positive word-of-mouth, and Eidos Montreal stands by the game’s quality overall.
“I have no regrets,” Guardians of the Galaxy senior creative director Jean-Francois Dugas told Eurogamer. “We did everything we could but that’s the reality of the market… And let’s not forget it’s a new IP. Even though we say all ‘Guardians [of the Galaxy] are known’, it’s still a new IP [in the video game market]. It could be a lot of people don’t even know that the game is out yet, or they’re not sure exactly what it is.”
While Guardians of the Galaxy might have kicked off with low sales by Square Enix’s standards, it was still a critically successful game, amassing positive reviews thanks to its intriguing campaign. Ultimately, it performed much better than its Marvel-inspired sibling, Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers, which we ranked lower for its heavy focus on loot-based mechanics.
We wrote in our review that it “nicely balances a goofy, action-filled adventure with some genuinely heartfelt moments” while praising it as what a “linear, no-frills, single-player campaign should be.”
For more info, learn how Guardians of the Galaxy created characters that stood apart from the MCU, and how Xbox Game Pass became the subscription service to beat.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer for IGN.