Ubisoft’sStar Wars Outlawssignificantly underperformed in European markets in 2024, ranking as the 47th best-selling game across the whole continent.Star Wars Jedi: Survivor,which was released in 2023, outsold Ubisoft’s open-world adventure game despite releasing a year and a half prior.
These figures were revealed by theVideo Games Chronicle, which highlighted Ubisoft’s struggling commercial year after a series of disappointments in 2024. BeforeStar Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft faced shortcomings with live-service titlesXDefiantandSkull and Bones, withthe prior set to shut down in June 2025, and the latter having a colossal budget which led to descriptions as one of the first “AAAA” experiences.Star Wars Outlawscemented a poor financial year for Ubisoft, and the association with the global sci-fi phenomenon brand hasn’t assisted sales.
Star Wars Outlaws Fails To Capture The Sci-fi Audience
Technical Issues At Launch Puts Off Players
Star Warsvideo game adaptations have typically received critical and commercial success, withRespawn’sStar Wars Jediseries being a recent example of this. However,Outlawsfailed to capture a similar response from fans and critics, withgame-breaking bugs, clunky controls, and other technical issues leading to a middlingMetacritic user score of 5.3.Despite Ubisoft’s repeated fixes, patches, andDLC updates, the title didn’t win audiences back over after its poor launch.
While it’s important to note thatStar Wars Outlaws wasreleased in August 2024, leaving only a few months of sales, other titles released around a similar period received excellent sales numbers, likeAstro Botin September.The shorter sales window compared to the charts' competitors doesn’t fully excuseStar Wars OutlawsandJedi: Survivor’s comparative strong sales momentum in 2024 seems to reflect players' lack of trust afterUbisoft’s buggy launch.
Our Take: Ubisoft May Have A Tough 2025 And Will Rely On AC Shadows
Delays To AC Shadows Reflects Tension And Concern From Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s challenges extend beyond the dismal sales ofStar Wars Outlaws, as the company’s underwhelming 2024 has led to strategic reassessments.Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot noted in a conference, courtesy ofGamespot, that the company has hired advisors to overlook “strategic and capitalistic options” to “reshape Ubisoft.“The struggles ofXDefiant, Skull and Bones,andPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownhave all led to this pressure, with the upcoming release ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowsacting as the last bastion of hope for Ubisoft.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Fans Continue To Petition Ubisoft To Add A Feature That Was Present In Every Other AC Game
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players are signing a petition to add the missing NG+ feature to the game - but there may be a good reason it was left out.
Frequent delays toAC Shadowshighlight Ubisoft’s concerns, asthe game has been postponed three times. The current launch date will be March 20, asReutersreported that Ubisoft wished to “allow the team to better incorporate the player feedback gathered over the past three months.“The performance ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowswill be pivotal to the trajectory of Ubisoft in 2025, as success could signal a turnaround, whereas further underperformances may exacerbate this tumultuous period.
