Frontier Developments PLC (AIM:FDEV) shares plummeted as the video game developer cut its revenue guidance for the current year after initial sales of the PC version of its Jurassic World Evolution 2 game fell short of expectations.
The company now expects revenue in the year to 31 May 2022 to be in the £100mln-130mln range, down from the previous forecast of £130mln-150mln.
The group said pre-order sales of Jurassic World Evolution 2, released on 9 November, were encouraging, but in the initial period following its release sales were lower than expected on the PC platform.
In addition, sales of the game Elite Dangerous: Odyssey have been more muted so far this year, Frontier added.
The company blamed the low sales of Jurassic World Evolution 2 on a more crowded release window than expected, with a number of other highly anticipated titles launching during the same period.
Sales of the game on PlayStation and Xbox were largely as expected, it said.
It still expects Jurassic World Evolution 2 to overtake Jurassic World Evolution in terms of revenue in its first 12 months from release and predicted further significant sales around Christmas.
Frontier founder and chief executive David Braben said: “Whilst initial sales on PC have been lower than we targeted, the game is already being enjoyed by around half a million players across all platforms, and showing very strong critical and player reviews.
“We are confident that it's another terrific addition to our great portfolio of games. Frontier's future looks strong and our portfolio continues to grow."
Shares sank 23.21% to 1,916.00p in opening trade