Ubisoft Takes a Risk with Assassin's Creed Shadows Delay, Giving Star Wars Outlaws a Second Chance

I have always believed that Star Wars Outlaws would be a perfect fit for the holiday season. The game's announcement at the 2023 E3 alternative generated significant buzz, quickly becoming a highly anticipated title. A big-budget, open-world Star Wars game should have been a guaranteed success, provided it met expectations. However, things did not go as planned. While the failure of Concord was a major setback for Sony, it was a high-risk concept from the start. Star Wars Outlaws, on the other hand, had none of those risks, yet it underperformed. This continues a streak of poor luck and performance for Ubisoft, raising concerns about potential job cuts due to anxious shareholders and high operating costs. The first sign that Star Wars Outlaws might not meet financial expectations came during the Summer Games Fest in June. A year after its announcement, the game's presentation was met with apathy, and social media statistics showed it lagging behind other titles. While it's impossible to pinpoint a single reason for the game's underperformance, I believe that releasing it in late October or early November could have helped it reach a broader audience. As the major Star Wars release of the holiday season, it could have been a top choice for parents buying gifts, especially with a potential Black Friday discount. In a normal year, Star Wars Outlaws would have been a year-end release, but Ubisoft already had Assassin's Creed Shadows scheduled for the holiday season. As a franchise owned by Ubisoft, it made sense to prioritize it over Star Wars Outlaws, which requires revenue sharing with Disney. However, with Assassin's Creed Shadows now delayed until early next year, Ubisoft is shifting its focus to Star Wars Outlaws and Just Dance for the holiday season. The company is also reevaluating its business model, opting for a more consumer-friendly approach. This change includes launching games on PC via Steam on day one and abandoning the Season Pass model. While it's uncertain whether these changes will generate goodwill among the community, they may prove to be a wise decision if they lead to improved sales for Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows. The delay of Assassin's Creed Shadows is a gamble, but it could pay off if Ubisoft can successfully re-release Star Wars Outlaws during the holiday season and achieve strong sales for Assassin's Creed in its new February slot. Nevertheless, the game's new release window is highly competitive, with titles like Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and Avowed also scheduled for February. Ubisoft must be cautious of the challenges that come with releasing a game in a crowded market, as seen with the release of Horizon Forbidden West just before Elden Ring in 2022.