If there was any franchise that was going to strike gold with an open-world video game, it was Star Wars. But despite “Star Wars Outlaws” drumming up a huge amount of attention in the years before its release in August last year, the game was hardly met with “thunderous applause” by fans—in many ways, it was both a critical and commercial disappointment.“Outlaws” was quite the talking point before its release — and not in a good way. But that didn’t end when it finally landed on consoles. Whether it was fans’ criticism of the appearance of the game’s lead Kay Vess (Humberly González), the mechanics and gameplay, or the hefty price tags, things didn’t get off to the best start for the open-world gaming title.Credit: Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft / Lucasfilm Games“Star Wars Outlaws” Should Have Been EpicWhat was intended to be one of the most crowd-pleasing entries in the entire Star Wars franchise (think about it: an open-world game set in the faraway galaxy set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) instead became the target of Internet memes and online discourse.But it wasn’t all bad — it sold 1 million copies within its first month of release according to Insider Gaming, and many fans love it. It also topped sales charts in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.As for the game itself, there’s fun to be had. Players can explore several planets, including well-known ones like Tatooine, while dealing with dangerous characters that populate the galaxy’s criminal underworld, with Jabba the Hutt being one of them. Sadly, the game has some repetitive gameplay mechanics. It also experienced technical issues at launch.Credit: Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft / Lucasfilm GamesConfirmed: “Outlaws” Was a Financial DisappointmentEither way, the publisher Ubisoft has since stated that sales weren’t where they should have been.In September 2024, the company reported that “Outlaws” failed to meet forecasted sales expectations, and that it led them to delay the release of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” as a result. In October, they shared their half-year results, which acknowledged that the major Star Wars title definitely “underperformed”.Credit: Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft / Lucasfilm GamesRelated: “Not Worth Engaging With” ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ Director Casually Dismisses Fan ConcernsApparently, the Wider Franchise Is To BlameNow, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has attributed the game’s commercial performance to the “choppy waters” of the wider Star Wars franchise.Per IGN, while addressing shareholders at a recent Q&A, Guillemot said “‘Outlaws’ was released at a time when the brand that it belonged to was in a bit of choppy waters.”He’s not wrong. From the widely panned sequel trilogy films to live-action television shows like The Book of Boba Fett (2021) and The Acolyte (2024), and not to mention the downfall of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Disney World, the franchise has suffered some serious blows over the past decade. But Guillemot failed to address problems with the game directly.Credit: LucasfilmFans Say “Star Wars Outlaws” Is WokeBoth the developer (Massive Entertainment) and publisher were also previously accused of “pushing an agenda” with the title, with many fans suggesting that Kay Vess’ physical appearance was a deliberate departure from that of the actress who plays her (Humberly González), in a bid to “de-feminize” the character for modern audiences.Recent years have seen several titles come under fire for allegedly pushing an LGBTQ+ agenda with their female characters. Last year, Massive Entertainment’s Julian Gerighty, the creative director behind “Outlaws,” said that such criticism was “not worth engaging with.”Nevertheless, the open-world game continues to expand with new DLCs, more recently with “A Pirate’s Fortune”. It’s also getting a Nintendo Switch 2 release in September.What do you think about “Star Wars Outlaws”? What do you think of the state of the franchise as a whole? Have you been disappointed with some of the latest content? Let us know in the comments!The post CEO Blames ‘Star Wars’ Franchise for Sequel Downfall, Fails To Address “Woke” Criticism appeared first on Inside the Magic.