Star Wars Outlaws Underperforms, Outsold by Jedi: Survivor
Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws, the franchise's first open-world title, is experiencing significantly lower sales than anticipated, even falling behind 2023's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. This underperformance has led to a sharp drop in Ubisoft's stock price following the game's August 2024 launch.
Negative player reception, particularly concerning the combat and stealth mechanics, contributed to the disappointing sales figures. While initial reviews were generally positive, subsequent player feedback highlighted these flaws, a sentiment not fully addressed by later updates. Ubisoft acknowledged in September that Outlaws missed its sales targets.
Adding to the woes, a recent report by VGC and Christopher Dring indicates that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, a single-player title, has outsold Outlaws. While precise sales data remains unavailable, Outlaws' ranking as the 47th best-selling game in Europe during 2024 further underscores its underperformance.
Several factors explain Jedi: Survivor's success. As a sequel to the well-received Fallen Order, it benefited from established brand recognition and critical acclaim upon its April 2023 release. A subsequent update expanding its availability to PS4 and Xbox One also boosted its popularity.
In contrast, Outlaws has struggled to gain traction despite ongoing updates and DLC releases. The November release of "Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card," featuring Lando Calrissian, and the upcoming Spring 2025 release of "Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate's Fortune," featuring Hondo Ohnaka, aim to revitalize interest in the game. However, whether these additions will be enough to significantly improve sales remains to be seen. The future of Star Wars Outlaws hinges on the success of these post-launch initiatives.
