Summary

  • Sales of Star Wars Outlaws fell short of Ubisoft's expectations, reportedly leading to a drop in stocks.
  • The lukewarm performance likely impacted the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows, which was delayed to 2025.
  • Ubisoft plans to address feedback and release updates for Star Wars Outlaws, aiming for better success.

By Ubisoft’s own admission, Star Wars Outlaws has fallen short of its publisher’s projected sales expectations. On August 27, Ubisoft and developer Massive Entertainment released the first true open-world Star Wars game in Star Wars Outlaws, an action-adventure crime caper that puts players in the role of an aspiring scoundrel named Kay Vess as she sets off to build a crew and pull off one of the most dangerous heists in the history of the Outer Rim. Critical reviews for Star Wars Outlaws were mainly favorable at launch, though there were complaints about the game’s rigid combat and clunky stealth.

Unfortunately, these warm reviews haven’t exactly translated into financial success for Star Wars Outlaws. When it initially launched late last month, Star Wars Outlaws drew backlash from players for a variety of reasons, including having to delete their progress in order to update the PS5 version of the game ahead of its release. This rough start only harmed Star Wars Outlaws’ sales performance, which was reportedly so poor that Ubisoft’s stocks plummeted shortly after it launched.

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Star Wars Outlaws’ Story and Reputation System are Mutually Exclusive to a Fault

Star Wars Outlaws' story and reputation rarely go hand in hand and one not affecting the other makes its open-world galaxy seem disjointed.

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Now Ubisoft investors have announced that Star Wars Outlaws has not performed as well as the big-name publisher had hoped in a recent financial report (via IGN). This report states that, despite Star Wars Outlaws getting solid ratings from aggregate sites like Metacritic (where it scored 76 out of 100) and user scores from the Epic Game Store (where it was rated as 3.9 out of 5), sales were ultimately "softer than expected." Ubisoft is still looking to mitigate this with future Star Wars Outlaws updates driven by player feedback, as well as its upcoming Steam release on November 21.

Star Wars Outlaws Fell Short of Ubisoft’s Sales Goals

The underwhelming performance of Star Wars Outlaws seems to be having a domino effect on other Ubisoft releases, particularly Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The next installment in the long-running Assassin’s Creed series was initially set to launch on November 15, but Ubisoft recently announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows has been delayed until February 14, 2025 to allow the development team at Ubisoft Quebec more time to polish and refine the game, due in part to “learnings” from the release of Star Wars Outlaws.

Ubisoft in general has been having a rough time of late, with some investors even calling for Ubisoft to go private after its stocks fell to an almost ten-year low earlier this month. The lukewarm sales of Star Wars Outlaws aren’t helping matters, with Ubisoft itself even admitting that the ambitious open-world title has performed less than what it was expecting as it plans corrective actions.

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Star Wars Outlaws Tag Page Cover Art
7 /10

Star Wars Outlaws
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Open-World
Action-Adventure
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 68%
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Released
August 30, 2024
ESRB
T For Teen // Violence, Simulated Gambling, Mild Language
Developer(s)
Massive Entertainment
Publisher(s)
Ubisoft, Lucasfilm Games
Engine
Snowdrop
Franchise
Star Wars
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Experience the first-ever open world Star Wars game and explore distinct planets across the galaxy, both iconic and new. Risk it all as Kay Vess, an emerging scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life. Fight, steal, & outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates as you join the galaxy’s most wanted. If you’re willing to take the risk, the galaxy is full of opportunity.

DISCOVER A GALAXY OF OPPORTUNITY
Explore distinct planets with bustling cities and cantinas before racing across sprawling outdoor landscapes on your speeder. Each planet brings new adventures, unique challenges, and enticing rewards if you’re willing to take the risk.

EXPERIENCE AN ORIGINAL SCOUNDREL STORY
Live the high-stakes lifestyle of an outlaw. With Nix by your side, turn any situation to your advantage: fight with your blaster, overcome enemies with stealth and gadgets, or find the right moments to distract enemies and gain the upper hand.

EMBARK ON HIGH-STAKES MISSIONS
Take on high-risk, high-reward missions from the galaxy’s crime syndicates. Steal valuable goods, infiltrate secret locations, and outwit enemies as one of the galaxy’s most wanted. Every choice you make influences your ever-changing reputation.

JUMP INTO THE PILOT SEAT
Pilot your ship, The Trailblazer, as you engage in thrilling dogfights with The Empire and other foes, finding the right opportunities to chase, evade, and attack to get the upper hand.

Genre(s)
Open-World, Action-Adventure
PS Plus Availability
N/A