What did Ubisoft's CEO say about Star Wars Outlaws?

Yves Guillemot stated that Star Wars Outlaws preorders are weaker than expected, citing that the Star Wars brand “is not as popular as it was a few years ago.”

Is Star Wars less popular now?

While opinions vary, Star Wars remains a highly recognizable brand. Current fatigue may stem from content saturation or franchise management, not a lack of interest.

Why didn’t Star Wars Outlaws sell well?

The game launched with polish issues, lacked familiar characters, and was marketed around a new protagonist and non-Jedi gameplay—making it harder to attract core Star Wars audiences.

How many copies did Star Wars Outlaws sell?

According to Insider Gaming, Outlaws sold only one million copies in its first month.

Will a new version of Star Wars Outlaws be released?

Yes. Ubisoft plans to release an updated, improved version of the game for next-gen platforms, including the rumored Nintendo Switch 2.

Ubisoft CEO Blames Star Wars Outlaws Preorders on Brand Fatigue and Franchise Decline

When Star Wars Outlaws was revealed as Ubisoft’s big swing at an open-world Star Wars game, the expectations were sky-high. An original story? Check. Scoundrel protagonist? Check. AAA polish from a major publisher? Well… that’s where things started to fall apart.

Now, nearly a year after launch, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has confirmed what many suspected: Star Wars Outlaws didn’t just underperform—it failed to meet Ubisoft’s sales targets. And in a recent shareholder meeting, he pointed fingers in two directions: the Star Wars brand and the game’s rough launch state.

“We Didn’t Reach Our Sales Targets”

During the meeting, Guillemot was candid about Outlaws‘ performance. He acknowledged that the game only moved around one million copies in its first month, a far cry from the numbers Ubisoft hoped to see from a globally recognized franchise.

“For Star Wars Outlaws, we didn’t reach our sales targets,” Guillemot said. “The game suffered from a number of items. First, it suffered from the fact that it was released at a time when the brand that it belonged to was in a bit of choppy waters.”

In other words: Ubisoft expected the Star Wars name to carry the game, but that didn’t happen. And rather than looking inward at execution, the CEO turned his lens toward the franchise as a whole.

Why Are Star Wars Outlaws Sales Low?

Let’s break down what Guillemot claimed—and what may really be happening behind the scenes.

1. Blaming the Brand: “Choppy Waters” or Misread Market?

Guillemot suggested that the Star Wars brand was experiencing a dip in popularity around the time of Outlaws‘ release. But that assertion doesn’t line up with reality. In 2024 and 2025:

Star Wars Battlefront II saw a massive resurgence in player numbers
Disney+ continued releasing Star Wars shows to strong engagement
Star Wars mods, fan games, and collectibles reached new levels of demand

So what gives? The real issue may be that Outlaws—a game without Jedi, Sith, or lightsabers—launched with a new character, unfamiliar lore, and limited pre-launch marketing. That’s a tough sell, even with the Star Wars logo stamped on the box.

Simply put, it wasn’t the galaxy’s fault. It was Ubisoft’s bet on the brand alone to drive hype, without fully establishing why Outlaws deserved to stand among the Jedi giants.

2. Launch Day Bugs and Missing Polish

Guillemot also admitted the game launched in a less-than-ideal technical state:

“The game had a few items that still needed to be polished, and they were polished and debugged in the early weeks, but it did affect sales volumes.”

This one’s easier to agree with. Players in 2024 have been burned too many times by buggy Day One launches and unfinished roadmaps. No matter how iconic the franchise, a rocky technical start is the kind of thing that derails momentum and tanks trust.

To their credit, Ubisoft patched and updated the game quickly, and the company now says that a more polished version will be released on future platforms, including the upcoming Switch 2.

But for many players, that ship had already jumped to hyperspace.

Star Wars Isn’t the Problem—Execution Is

Let’s get this straight: Star Wars still sells. From LEGO to FX lightsabers to games like Jedi: Survivor, the demand is still very real. The problem with Outlaws wasn’t the universe—it was the launch strategy, the lack of iconic elements, and the unearned confidence that slapping a logo on a cover would move units.

Gamers today are smart, skeptical, and cautious—especially with publishers known for live-service fluff and post-launch patch jobs. That’s not Star Wars fatigue. That’s just learned behavior.

The Casino Mindset: Gamers Are Betting Smarter Now

If Ubisoft expected Outlaws to succeed based on name recognition alone, they misread the odds. In a market driven by value, polish, and player trust, gamers are placing calculated bets—not blind preorders. And like any good sabacc player, they’ve learned when to hold credits and wait for the next hand.

That’s not a franchise problem. That’s a publisher trust problem.

Conclusion: The Force Is Still Strong, But Hype Isn’t Automatic

Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws might have had the galaxy behind it, but its lack of polish and unfamiliar direction left many players in orbit rather than on board. The Force isn’t fading—the excitement just needs to be earned.

Fix the game, rebuild trust, and show us why Kay Vess deserves to fly among legends. Until then, blaming the brand feels like missing the target with a fully charged blaster.

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