The game has allegedly moved 55% less units in the UK compared to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Another week, another rough AAA game launch. Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft has been at the center of rabid online debate for a while now owing to its questionable gameplay (including the ability to knock out armored Storm Troopers by... smacking them in the back of the helmet) and the design of lead character Kay Vess. All of the talk would have likely been moot if Outlaws launched in strong form, but alas, that was not the case, as multiple videos have surfaced online of the litany of bugs and glitches that were present in the launch build of the game. Although Ubisoft eventually patched out some of these problems, fans who paid upwards of $130 for early access to Outlaws were told they'd have to delete their save files as the old data wasn't compatible with the new update.
Needless to say, that didn't go over well with players.
Outlaws currently sits at 76 on Metacritic among critics, but 4.9 with users. The users are what matter most, and it seems that the negative reaction to Outlaws is impacting sales. According to Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz, while there aren't numbers quite yet on digital sales, physical copies sold in the UK of Outlaws are 55% less than that of EA's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Not a good sign for the game, especially following Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot alleging the company produces "AAAA" or "quadruple-a" software. That "AAAA" might actually be the phonetic spelling of a silent scream resonating within the halls of Ubisoft if Outlaws is indeed underperforming.
There is a question of Ubisoft+'s role in Outlaws' sales, as it was being heavily promoted as a draw for the service. Ubisoft told consumers that if they wanted, rather than shell out $70 or even $130 all at once for the game, they could instead subscribe for $17.99 per month... which actually brings the cost of the game up to $215.88. Now, that's pretty steep if you're specifically subscribing to Ubisoft+ just for Outlaws, which presumably isn't the only game fans would be playing on the service, but it's something to consider. Whether or not Outlaws will boost Ubisoft+ subs remains to be seen, and we're still waiting to hear word on sales in North America and elsewhere, but it could be the proverbial silver lining Ubisoft is looking for if the game's sales are truly soft.
Meanwhile, the debate online continues as fans question the merit of, ostensibly, making a Han Solo game without Han Solo in it. At the same time, Jedi: Survivor stars Cal Kestis, another newcomer, and the reaction to that series of games has been much more positive. Which brings things back to the design of lead Kay Vess. This one is entirely subjective, but many online consider the character to be strange looking, to the point of being unlikable. As a culture war talking point, the argument is that Kay is intentionally unconventional in her portrayal, which has prompted some to avoid the game entirely. Has this impacted sales in any meaningful way? We'll simply have to wait and see.
Source: Christopher Dring X Account
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