Star Wars Outlaws Faces Further Sales Decline

Summary

• Star Wars Outlaws is being outsold by 2023's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
• Ubisoft’s stocks dropped sharply following the launch of Star Wars Outlaws in August 2024.
• Players dislike the game's combat and stealth mechanics.

In a challenging turn of events for Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft's ambitious open-world title is reportedly being outsold by the 2023 release, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Despite early reviews being largely positive when Star Wars Outlaws launched in August 2024, players have expressed significant dissatisfaction with the game's combat and stealth mechanics. Ubisoft has attempted to address these concerns through subsequent updates, but these efforts have not sufficiently won over the initial detractors.

The game's underwhelming reception has led to disappointing financial performance. Ubisoft acknowledged in September that Star Wars Outlaws did not meet its sales expectations. The company's stock took a sharp downturn shortly after the game's launch on August 27, 2024, intensifying concerns about Ubisoft's financial stability and prompting discussions about potentially taking the company private. Despite these setbacks, Ubisoft and developer Massive Entertainment remain hopeful that Star Wars Outlaws can recover through planned post-launch DLC.

A recent report by VGC and former GamesIndustry.biz journalist Christopher Dring further dampened these hopes, revealing that Star Wars Outlaws is not only underperforming but is being outsold by Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Respawn Entertainment's sequel to the acclaimed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has outsold Outlaws, though specific sales figures have not been disclosed. In Europe, Star Wars Outlaws was ranked the 47th best-selling video game of 2024.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is Outselling Star Wars Outlaws

Several factors may explain why Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is outperforming Star Wars Outlaws. As a sequel to the successful Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Survivor benefited from an established fanbase and received widespread acclaim upon its April 2023 release. Additionally, an update released by EA and Respawn for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PS4 and Xbox One last year helped reignite interest in Cal Kestis's journey.

Conversely, Star Wars Outlaws has struggled to capture a similar audience, despite ongoing efforts by Massive Entertainment to enhance the game with updates and story DLC. The first expansion, Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card, released in November, featured Kay Vess teaming up with Lando Calrissian. The upcoming second DLC, Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune, is scheduled for a Spring 2025 release and will include the return of the beloved Star Wars: The Clone Wars character Hondo Ohnaka.