It’s been about a year since Star Wars Outlaws was released, and its financial performance left a lot to be desired. The game underperformed expectations, making it one of several high-profile Ubisoft games to do so over the last few years. There are a lot of different reasons Outlaws might have struggled to find an audience, but Yves Guillemot places the blame directly on the Star Wars brand itself. In an investor call (via Gamereactor), the Ubisoft CEO attributed lower than expected sales to the fact that it “was released at a time when the brand that it belonged to was in a bit of choppy waters.”
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It’s difficult to say what “choppy waters” Guillemot is referring to. While some of the Star Wars shows on Disney+ have struggled to find the kind of wide audience the brand typically enjoys, that certainly didn’t stop EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor from being financially successful one year prior. It also ignores the fact that reception to Star Wars Outlaws was largely mixed. The game had a number of bugs at launch, and that wasn’t the only issue players had. ComicBook reviewer Hannah Adkins awarded the game a score of 3.5 out of 5 last year, taking issue with the “often monotonous and unexciting gameplay.”
That’s not the only reason Star Wars Outlaws might have struggled to find an audience; several other Ubisoft games have faced similar issues lately. Last year’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown also underperformed, despite widespread critical acclaim. It’s possible that the publisher’s expectations are simply too high. That said, some have attributed these failures to Ubisoft’s tendency to massively discount their games after launch; it’s hard to convince people to spend $69.99 when most know that same game will be discounted to $39.99 or less within just a few months.
Thankfully for Ubisoft, Star Wars Outlaws will have a chance at finding a new audience later this year. The game was announced for Nintendo Switch 2 back in April, and it will be released on September 4th. Switch 2 is less than two months old at this point, but several publishers are already bringing over a lot of games that weren’t technically possible on the previous Nintendo system. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the biggest examples, and Final Fantasy VII Remake will arrive later this year. Hopefully Ubisoft’s developers can faithfully translate the game to Nintendo Switch 2, and ensure an experience worth playing.
The Star Wars franchise is in something of a transition period right now. There aren’t very many high-profile shows or movies coming in the immediate future, following the release of Andor Season 2 earlier this year. It’s easy to blame that for the struggles of Star Wars Outlaws, but Ubisoft might want to look at some other factors that might have contributed.
Did you play Star Wars Outlaws? Why do you think the game struggled to find an audience? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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