Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars project was supposed to be a major milestone. Instead, “Star Wars Outlaws” has become another cautionary tale for both the publisher and the wider franchise itself. Less than a year after its release, Ubisoft has confirmed a “voluntary redundancy program” affecting employees is underway at Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft Stockholm, the two studios behind the game.
The move follows disappointing sales for “Outlaws”, which launched in 2024 as the first open-world entry in the Star Wars universe. Set between Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983), it stars Humberly González as Kay Vess, a scoundrel navigating the galaxy's criminal underworld.
The premise is promising enough, but the execution drew criticism—fans called the gameplay “janky,” the graphics “low-grade,” and some even accused the developers of leaning into “woke” politics instead of storytelling with its depiction of Kay Vess.
Now, Ubisoft has addressed the situation with an official post on Massive Entertainment’s X (Twitter) account, writing:
“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 studio shake-up was first reported by French news site Le Figaro (highlighted on ResetEra) and later confirmed by Ubisoft itself.
It’s not the first time Star Wars has faced commercial turbulence. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the brand has struggled to maintain consistency across its many projects. Andor (2022) and The Acolyte (2024) suffered from low streaming numbers, Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) underperformed at the box office, and the absurdly priced Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience closed its doors after just 18 months of operation.
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Even Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019)—which earned over $1 billion worldwide—carried a whopping $600 million production cost before tax credits, a figure that has absolutely shocked industry analysts, as revealed in a recent report from Forbes.
While “Outlaws” has received additional DLC and a Nintendo Switch 2 release, its disappointing sales have clearly reshaped Ubisoft’s priorities. A decade after Star Wars re-entered the gaming scene, the galaxy’s future in Ubisoft’s hands appears uncertain.
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