Not long ago, in a galaxy very, very close… Ubisoft recently held its annual shareholders meeting, during which its CEO, Yves Guillemot, addressed both the successes and failures of the company. One of the highlights was the disappointing commercial reception of Star Wars Outlaws, a title that has been considered a quality game and received post-launch support, but did not meet the expected sales targets.
Did Not Feel the Force
Guillemot attributed the game’s poor performance to several factors, including market saturation of Star Wars content and general brand fatigue. The franchise has ramped up its releases, presenting multiple series in 2024, which, according to him, has led to less enthusiasm among fans. Additionally, Outlaws faced a lot of competition, especially from the acclaimed Jedi Survivor.
The CEO also acknowledged technical failures in the launch of Outlaws, which negatively affected its sales. However, he stated that these issues were resolved quickly and that they plan to launch an improved version for new consoles, such as the Switch 2.
In response to the drop in sales, Ubisoft decided to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows to ensure that the game was polished before its release. Guillemot noted that the company learned from this experience, although it raises the question of why they hadn’t done it earlier, given their extensive time in the industry.
Finally, despite the criticism, Outlaws is still seen as a tribute to the saga and many fans hope to find it at more affordable prices during the sales. This case reflects how content saturation can overlook games that, despite being well-crafted, fail to capture attention in such a competitive market.