Ubisoft Blames "Rough Waters" of Star Wars for Low Sales of Outlaws

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, attributed the underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws to the "rough waters" phase that the Star Wars franchise was going through. Instead of focusing on issues within the game itself, such as bugs or repetitive gameplay, Guillemot told shareholders that the title was released during a challenging period for the brand, which sparked controversy among fans and critics.

Guillemot's statement during a question and answer session with shareholders avoided directly mentioning the performance issues of Star Wars Outlaws, including bugs and complaints about repetitive gameplay. Instead, he argued: "Outlaws was released at a time when the brand to which it belonged was in somewhat rough waters."

It is true that the Star Wars brand has faced recent challenges, such as the lukewarm reception of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and lower than expected viewership for Disney+ spin-offs, such as The Book of Boba Fett and The Acolyte. However, attributing Outlaws's mixed performance to broader issues with the fan base sounded reductionist to many, generating criticism.

Guillemot's analysis did not consider the technical issues of the game at launch. The IGN review of Star Wars Outlaws, which awarded the game a 7/10 ("Good"), highlighted repetitive combat and "too many bugs at launch." Additionally, the game faced controversy even before its release, with accusations that Ubisoft was "pushing an agenda," resulting in "polarized comments" around the developer/publisher and the game.

Star Wars Outlaws received its first story expansion, "A Pirate’s Fortune DLC," in May, available for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The DLC allows players to team up with Hondo Ohnaka, a character known to fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the comic series Star Wars: Darth Maul (2017). Hondo acts as an ally to Kay as she takes on Stinger Tash and his gang, the Rokana Raiders, explores a mysterious tomb, and smuggles for the Miyuki Trade League.

Despite selling 1 million copies in the first month, Star Wars Outlaws fell short of Ubisoft's expectations, leading to an internal investigation. The company also postponed Assassin's Creed Shadows to avoid another setback. The game's performance has been compared to titles like Tekken 8, which sold 1 million in a day, and Black Myth: Wukong, with 10 million in three days.