Ubisoft Responds to Star Wars Outlaws Backlash Over Jabba the Hutt Mission

Since the release of the story trailer for Star Wars Outlaws earlier this month, the game and its developers at Massive Entertainment, part of Ubisoft, have been facing backlash due to an unpopular pay wall restriction. Along with the story trailer the game's release date was announced, along with the different versions for the game as they became available to pre-order. Notably for $40 USD more than the Standard Edition, the Gold Edition includes 3-day early access and a sigh-inducing season pass – locking behind its paywall a mission called "Jabba's Gambit."

It's no surprise Star Wars fans were upset by the decision, as on the surface it would appear that the game centered on organized crime in a galaxy far, far away was restricting the franchise's most popular crime boss behind a significant price difference. What's worse, the content is also available on launch, which makes some players feel they're being alienated from the full launch experience unless they're willing to spend a decent chunk of money more to experience the extra mission.

Players on Reddit expressed their frustrations in a variety of ways, with one user stating "It's kind of amazing how Ubisoft has managed to stumble over themselves with this. When Outlaws was announced roughly a year ago, it came out swinging with a really cool-looking demo and footage that had people intrigued and showed great potential." Another commenter pointed out that many Ubisoft titles "drop $20-30 within a 4 week period post-launch day. I'm just sitting this one out," while others noted the inclusion of a season pass in this capacity "absolutely murder[ed] any interest I had in playing this game."

So, what does Ubisoft have to say about the backlash?

Speaking with PC Gamer, a Ubisoft representative elaborated on the season pass and the game's Jabba content, stating "To clarify, Jabba the Hutt and the Hutt Cartel are one of the main syndicates in Star Wars Outlaws and will be part of the experience for everyone who purchases the game, regardless of edition. The 'Jabba's Gambit' mission is an optional, additional mission with the Hutt Cartel along Kay and Nix's journey across the Outer Rim. This mission will be available to those who purchase the season pass or an edition of the game which includes the season pass."

This isn't the first round of backlash Outlaws has faced, and we'll all have to wait to see if Ubisoft will face more in the months to come ahead of the game's release. Previously, players slammed the game for requiring an internet connection to install physical copies of the game, and Ubisoft's Director of Subscriptions Philippe Tremblay's comment that people need to get "comfortable with not owning" their games has been immensely unpopular since made in February.

As for Star Wars Outlaws, an even pricier version of the game is available for $130 USD, the Ultimate Edition, which includes Jabba's Gambit and the 3-day early access as well as a digital art book and two cosmetics packs. The game launches on August 30th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, or August 27th if you're willing to pay the price for early access.

Will you be playing Outlaws despite the controversial season pass? Do you think the statement from Ubisoft will make the Star Wars fandom happier with the game's multiple versions? Let us know in the comments or on X!