It’s been nearly a year sinceStar Wars Outlawslaunched to somewhat unimpressive reviews anddownright underperforming sales figures. At a recent investor meeting, Ubisoft’s chairman and CEO, Yves Guillemot, was asked to explain the situation.
Guillemot’s subsequent answer points to a belief in a broader problem with the historically strong Star Wars IP. Rather than discussing the game’s technical issues at launch, or any potential problems during the developmental period (be they structural or managerial in nature), he was quick to assign the blame to the entirety of A Galaxy Far, Far Away.
A Disturbance In The Force?
Star Wars has been through its fair share of ups and downs since Disney bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas back in 2012. Evidently, in Guillemot’s mind,things were veering downwardwith Star Wars Outlaws released in August 2024:
“Outlaws was released at a time when the brand that it belonged to was in a bit of choppy waters.” -Yves Guillemot
There’s certainly something to be said for wanting a big-budget and historically-proven franchise to maintain its massive appeal when you’re launching an expensive AAA video game with its name on the title. And 2024 was something of a down year for Star Wars overall; The Acolyte, a rather divisive live-action series had finished its doomed-to-a-single-season run in July. On the animated front, Young Jedi Adventures had just premiered its second season, but it’s probably not a big draw for all age groups.
Just the same, I reckon we all know that Star Wars Outlaws' issues ran deeper than just troubled times for the brand. Only a year prior, in February 2023, EA and Respawn Entertainment impressed plenty of folks withStar Wars: Jedi Survivor, a game that had a greater cultural impact andstronger sales figuresto boot. I’m not sure if I buy Guillemot’s claim that Outlaws' brave heroine, Kay Vess, hit choppy waters solely because Star Wars itself was in a tempestuous place at the time.
TheGamer’s own Jade King gave Star Wars Outlaws 3.5 out of 5 starsand said that “there [were] times when I didn’t want to put this game down, which only made its glaring omissions all the more noticeable.” She criticized its unimpressive story and oddly unpolished elements, the latter of which drew particular attention across the internet.
Elswhere during the shareholder meeting, Guillemot may have teased a new entry in the Ghost Recon series. After talking upRainbow Six Siege X,he mentioned a plan to “[capitalize] on upcoming launches, such as The Division and Ghost Recon.” (Great spot,Game File!)
Wait a minute,whatupcoming launch of Ghost Recon?
