Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws Underperforms, Outsold by Jedi: Survivor

Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft's ambitious open-world title, is facing significant challenges. Despite initially positive reviews upon its August 2024 launch, player reception has been mixed, particularly regarding combat and stealth mechanics. These criticisms, while addressed in subsequent updates, haven't significantly boosted sales.

Consequently, Outlaws has fallen short of Ubisoft's sales projections, leading to a sharp drop in the company's stock price in September 2024. This underperformance has fueled speculation about the publisher's future, including discussions of a potential buyout.

Adding to the woes, recent reports indicate that Outlaws is being outsold by 2023's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. While precise sales figures remain undisclosed, Jedi: Survivor, a critically acclaimed sequel to a successful title, has clearly outperformed Outlaws. In Europe, Outlaws only managed a 47th place ranking in 2024's best-selling games.

Several factors contribute to Jedi: Survivor's success. It's a well-received sequel to a popular game, benefiting from pre-existing brand loyalty and positive critical reception. Furthermore, a PS4 and Xbox One update in 2024 rekindled interest in the game.

In contrast, Outlaws has struggled to gain traction, despite ongoing updates and DLC releases. The first expansion, "Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card," featuring Lando Calrissian, launched in November 2024. A second expansion, "Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate's Fortune," is slated for Spring 2025 and will include the popular character Hondo Ohnaka. Whether this DLC will revitalize the game's performance remains to be seen. Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment maintain optimism for Outlaws' future, but its current underperformance is undeniable.