Star Wars Outlaws and the Ubisoft Problem

July 3, 2026 - 18:47

Ubisoft's relentless drive to make its intellectual property as widespread as possible has backfired, and the new game Star Wars Outlaws is the latest casualty. The open-world title, set in the beloved galaxy far, far away, suffers from a familiar problem: the developer's obsession with filling every corner of its map with repetitive busywork.

Instead of delivering a focused, narrative-driven adventure that captures the spirit of the smuggler's life, Outlaws feels like a checklist. Players are asked to climb towers to reveal new points of interest, clear out enemy camps, and collect countless resources for upgrades. This structure, which has defined Ubisoft games for over a decade, feels particularly out of place in a Star Wars setting. The magic of the universe is diluted when every planet feels like a theme park with the same rides.

The core gameplay loop is competent, but it lacks the spark of genuine discovery. The story, while attempting to capture the underdog vibe of early Star Wars, gets buried under the weight of the open-world systems. What should be a tight, thrilling heist narrative becomes a slog of side objectives that feel mandatory to keep up with enemy difficulty.

This is the "Ubisoft Problem" in full display. The company treats its massive IPs like Star Wars and Assassin's Creed as templates to be filled with the same predictable mechanics. It prioritizes player retention metrics over memorable moments. The result is a game that is technically impressive but emotionally hollow. Star Wars Outlaws is not a bad game, but it is a disappointing one, proving that even the Force cannot fix a broken design philosophy.