It’s been more than a decade since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, but the Star Wars franchise has had trouble finding a steady footing.
Despite an endless mix of new movies, spinoffs, and streaming shows, few have managed to capture the spirit of George Lucas’s original vision. Projects like Andor (2022) and The Acolyte (2024) never found their audience, and even high-profile theatrical releases like Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and the pricey Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World Resort fell short of expectations — and that’s just the financial side of things. Audiences have rejected many other projects, namely the last two sequel trilogy movies.
Now, that same inconsistency has reached the gaming side of the galaxy.
Ubisoft’s “Star Wars Outlaws”, the franchise’s first open-world game, has joined the list of financial disappointments. Released in 2024, it follows outlaw Kay Vess (Humberly González) in a story set between Set between Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983).
Despite being positioned as a landmark moment for Star Wars gaming, “Outlaws” drew criticism for “janky” mechanics, “low-grade” visuals, and character design controversies that dominated fan conversations even before launch.
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Critics were more forgiving, offering generally positive reviews, but that wasn’t enough to move copies. The game missed its sales targets, and now Ubisoft is restructuring.
The company has confirmed that a “voluntary redundancy program” is underway at “Star Wars Outlaws” studios Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm. First reported by French news site Le Figaro (highlighted on ResetEra), the news was later verified in an official statement posted on Massive Entertainment’s X (Twitter) account:
“As part of our ongoing evolution and long-term planning, we have recently realigned our teams and resources to strengthen our roadmap, ensuring our continued focus on The Division franchise and technologies, including Snowdrop and Ubisoft Connect, that power our games.”
The layoffs follow Ubisoft’s own admission last October that “Outlaws” underperformed commercially.
However, smaller victories for the game continue: post-launch DLCs have continued to roll out, and the game has since been ported to Nintendo Switch 2 alongside its original PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S versions.
Whether Ubisoft revisits the Star Wars universe again remains uncertain, but after this, it may take more than the Force to restore confidence in a galaxy far, far away.
What are your thoughts on “Star Wars Outlaws”? Let us know in the comments below!
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