Star Wars Outlaws Gets More Bad Sales News

Summary

• Star Wars Outlaws is underperforming compared to 2023's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
• Ubisoft's stock prices declined significantly following Star Wars Outlaws' August 2024 launch.
• Negative player feedback regarding combat and stealth mechanics contributed to the game's poor reception.

Adding to the challenges faced by Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft's open-world title is reportedly being outsold by 2023's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Despite initially positive reviews upon its August 2024 launch, player dissatisfaction with the combat and stealth mechanics significantly impacted its performance. While Ubisoft addressed these issues with subsequent updates, these improvements failed to fully reverse the negative initial reception.

This underwhelming performance resulted in disappointing sales, falling short of Ubisoft's expectations, as acknowledged by the company in September. The game's underperformance, coupled with its launch on August 27, 2024, led to a sharp drop in Ubisoft's stock prices, raising concerns about the publisher's financial stability and sparking discussions about a potential privatization. Despite these setbacks, Ubisoft and developer Massive Entertainment remain optimistic about the game's future, banking on the planned post-launch DLC to revitalize its sales.

However, a recent report by VGC and former GamesIndustry.biz journalist Christopher Dring casts further doubt on this optimism. The report indicates that Star Wars Outlaws is not only underperforming but is also being outsold by Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. While precise sales figures remain undisclosed, Respawn Entertainment's single-player sequel clearly outperformed Ubisoft's open-world adventure. Further highlighting the game's struggles, Star Wars Outlaws recently ranked 47th in European video game sales for 2024.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Outselling Star Wars Outlaws

Several factors likely contribute to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's superior performance. As a sequel to the successful Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, it benefited from established brand recognition and positive critical reception upon its April 2023 release. A subsequent update for PS4 and Xbox One further boosted its popularity and player engagement.

In contrast, Star Wars Outlaws has struggled to gain traction, despite ongoing updates and DLC releases from Massive Entertainment. The November release of the "Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card" expansion, featuring Kay Vess and Lando Calrissian, and the upcoming "Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate's Fortune" DLC (Spring 2025), featuring Hondo Ohnaka, have yet to significantly impact its sales trajectory.