Microsoft (MSFT) stock was down on Wednesday alongside news that Xbox has lost support from two third-party developers. The publishers of 1348 Ex Voto and Nickelodeon’s Splat Pack have canceled the Xbox versions of their games.
Claim 50% Off TipRanks Premium
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio's potential
1348 Ex Voto publisher Dear Villagers released a note to its fans explaining the reason for the cancelation of the Xbox version. It said, “While we previously announced that the game would be released on Xbox consoles, we have the unfortunate news that this is no longer the case. As release approaches for the indie team, priorities are constantly evaluated, and sometimes must shift to deliver the best experience possible. With this in mind, we made the difficult decision to cancel the Xbox version to focus efforts on the PC and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.”
In the case of Nickelodeon’s Splat Pack, a collection of retro games based on properties owned by Paramount Skydance (PSKY), no official reason for the cancelation was given. Instead, Limited Run Games only confirmed that the versions were canceled.
A Bad Sign for Xbox?
There’s no denying that Xbox hasn’t performed as well as fellow video game hardware companies Nintendo (NTDOF) and Sony (SONY) recently. The Xbox Series X|S has only shipped about 28.3 million units since its 2020 release, compared to Nintendo’s 154.01 million Switch units sold since 2017 and Sony’s 84.2 million PlayStation 5 units sold since 2020.
The lackluster Xbox Series X|S sales are only slightly above the 24 million units sold for the original Xbox, when Microsoft was still carving out a name for the brand against Sony, Nintendo, and Sega (SGAMY). They also fall well below the 58 million Xbox One units shipped and the 84 million Xbox 360 units shipped.
Microsoft stock was down 0.16% on Wednesday, extending a 0.78% year-to-date fall. However, MSFT stock was still up 8.65% over the past 12 months.
Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Microsoft is Strong Buy, based on 33 Buy and two Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average MSFT stock price target of $618.85, representing a potential 29.09% upside for the shares.
