Released in late August, Star Wars Outlaws was meant to be one of the biggest gaming hits of 2024. After a string of underperforming titles, Ubisoft firmly believed this brand-new Star Wars adventure would turn things around. It is fair to say that this wager has not proven quite as successful as promised, though, leaving many investors disgruntled – and Ubisoft’s management under fire.
All is not well in a galaxy far, far away as far as Ubisoft is concerned. Marketed as a daring departure from the series’ standards, with brand-new protagonist Kay Vess essentially filling in the shoes of iconic space thief Han Solo, Star Wars Outlaws should have been one of Ubisoft’s greatest success stories. What should have been a triumph, however, morphed into a turnaround for the worst for the company’s fortunes.
Outlaws reviewed well enough, with many critics praising the game’s first-ever open world in the Star Wars universe. Our own review of Star Wars Outlaws is pretty positive, as we thoroughly enjoyed this fun and innovative take on the Star Wars experience. Playing as a scoundrel feels like quite the clever spin on the usual formula. The addition of Kay’s merqaal companion Nix also makes all stealth sequences that much more interesting gameplay-wise, with a few genuinely cute bonding moments between both partners in crime.
More than anything, the free-roaming between heaps of visually stunning planets remains the game’s strong suit. Stumbling upon every secret hidden in Tatooine is a treat for every hardcore Star Wars fan, as developers have sprinkled countless references, including a hilarious parody of Anakin’s infamous sand speech uttered by a stormtrooper outside of the Mos Eisley Cantina. Despite playing center stage in the story, Cantonica is a little more unsatisfying to explore as the moments spent on Kay’s home planet are few and far between.
Card sharks looking forward to having a fling at the planet’s glamorous casinos are also in for a disappointment. Incidentally, they may have better luck visiting real casinos online. The best platforms even grant no deposit bonuses to all users. These offers make it easy to boost one’s bankroll in no time. Newcomers can often grab them as part of welcome packages. With free spins and cashback deals, they may get extra chances at hitting it big at machine slots or poker – unless they’d rather sit at a Sabbac table while playing Star Wars Outlaws.
Arguably, Kessel Sabbac is one of the highlights of the game’s fairly limited minigame roster. It also exemplifies how Ubisoft missed the mark in many ways, being one of a select few non-repetitive minigames. Incidentally, Outlaws tremendously suffers from a lackluster gameplay loop, one so simplistic as to hinder the fun parts of its intergalactic heist story. Best illustrated by the game’s awkward stealth and dull combat, this risk-avert approach might partially explain why this outer space action adventure has fallen short of meeting Ubisoft’s sales expectations.
In the UK, the game’s figures have hit a shocking low, selling only half of the copies of Assassin’s Creed Mirage. As reported by Reuters, analysts have subsequently lowered the game’s overall sales by two million units. Outlaws’ tepid commercial reception immediately impacted the studio’s shares, whose stock dropped by 13.5% in the wake of the game’s launch. This sharp decline is part of an even sharper downturn, only made worse by the recent flop of the PvP shooter XDefiant, which failed to live up to its calling as a Call of Duty rival due to many bugs and connectivity issues.
Following reports of these underperforming sales, many investors were quick to point the finger at Ubisoft. One stakeholder penned an open letter expressing their deep dissatisfaction with the publisher’s strategy. With its share price approaching a ten-year low, the French gaming giant direly needs a massive commercial success to get back on track. As it turns out, Ubisoft has one last ace up its sleeve in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which releases on November 12.
However, the backlash and controversies surrounding its purported next “hit in the making” might not sound overly reassuring to the ears of Ubisoft’s investors and decision-makers. So, could Ubisoft afford yet another AAA failure after Star Wars Outlaws and even pirate action-adventure Skull and Bones sank? Only time will tell how the publisher will correct course. Yet, the report of the company’s second-quarter earnings in October might already reveal much about its financial stability – and future strategic direction.
