Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot attributed Star Wars Outlaws' underwhelming reception to the "choppy waters" facing the Star Wars fandom.

During a recent Q&A with shareholders, Guillemot avoided addressing the game’s own performance issues, bugs, or feedback about repetitive gameplay, instead stating: "Outlaws was released at a time when the brand it belonged to was in a bit of choppy waters."

It’s true that the Star Wars brand has faced some setbacks lately—Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker received a lukewarm response, and Disney+ spin-offs like Book of Boba Fett and The Acolyte drew lower-than-expected viewership. But linking Outlaws’ mixed reception to broader fandom issues has left some fans skeptical, viewing it as an oversimplification.

Guillemot made no mention of the game’s technical problems at launch. IGN’s own Star Wars Outlaws review—where we gave the sci-fi title a "Good" 7/10—pointed out repetitive combat and "a few too many bugs at launch."

The game also faced controversy well before release, when Ubisoft was accused of "pushing an agenda," resulting in "polarized comments" surrounding both the developer/publisher and the game.

Star Wars Outlaws got its first story expansion in May with the release of the A Pirate’s Fortune DLC on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. A Pirate’s Fortune lets players team up with Hondo Ohnaka, leader of the Ohnaka Gang. Hondo is a familiar face to fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and readers of the 2017 comic series Star Wars: Darth Maul, and even appeared as an animatronic character in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In this expansion, he becomes Kay’s ally as she confronts Stinger Tash and her gang, the Rokana Raiders, explores a mysterious tomb, and undertakes smuggling missions for the Miyuki Trade League.

Star Wars Outlaws is set to launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 4.