Disney Bets Big on Star Wars Outlaws to Break Hollywood’s Gaming Curse
Disney is testing gamers’ appetite for Hollywood IP once again with Ubisoft’s latest offering, Star Wars Outlaws. This AAA title, released on August 30th, follows the expiration of EA’s exclusive 10-year rights deal for the Star Wars franchise. Developed by Massive Entertainment, Outlaws ventures into open-world gameplay, echoing the style of Ubisoft’s popular franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
Massive Entertainment, known for the 2023 release Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, faced lukewarm reception with its Avatar game despite the franchise’s success in film. Though reviews were not overwhelmingly negative, subpar sales quickly led to discounts on the game just days after its release, casting doubt on its commercial viability. However, Outlaws might fare better simply due to the strength of the Star Wars brand, which is deeply ingrained in gaming culture with a history of dozens of titles over the years.
Hollywood IP continues to dominate the gaming charts, with three of the top 10 bestselling games in 2023 rooted in major film franchises. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Hogwarts Legacy was among them, outselling even Call of Duty. Yet, not all titles based on Hollywood properties succeed; Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League resulted in a $200 million loss for WBD’s gaming division earlier this year. As such, Outlaws enters a market where gamers are increasingly cautious of big-budget Hollywood IPs—particularly those tied to Star Wars, given the franchise’s inconsistent performance in gaming over the past decade.
Adding to the industry’s woes are the delayed projects like the indefinitely postponed remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse, which has seen little progress since its announcement in 2021. Despite these setbacks, Ubisoft completed work on Outlaws relatively quickly after first pitching the game in 2020. The game shares a premise with Amy Hennig’s canceled Star Wars project for EA, known as Ragtag.
With Star Wars films on hiatus and the mixed reception of Disney+ series, Outlaws could offer fans something fresh, filling a gap in the franchise. Encouragingly, EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was one of 2023’s top-selling games, signaling strong demand for well-crafted Star Wars experiences.
Ubisoft also benefits from the relative scarcity of major Star Wars titles on the horizon. While EA is developing another Jedi game, it has already canceled a planned first-person shooter set in the same universe. With publishers pivoting away from live-service models that have struggled to find success—such as the recent failure of Suicide Squad—Outlaws could resonate with players seeking single-player, RPG-style experiences.
Although Outlaws could face commercial challenges, it may still prove a significant opportunity for Disney as they seek a new hit in the gaming world. And with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle slated for release in early 2025, Disney’s IP experiment in gaming continues. Meanwhile, their $1.5 billion Fortnite deal ensures that revenue from in-game purchases keeps flowing, regardless of how these major AAA games perform.
SOURCE Variety VIP
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Disney is testing gamers’ appetite for Hollywood IP once again with Ubisoft’s latest offering, Star Wars Outlaws. This AAA title, released on August 30th, follows the expiration of EA’s exclusive 10-year rights deal for the Star Wars franchise. Developed by Massive Entertainment, Outlaws ventures into open-world gameplay, echoing the style of Ubisoft’s popular franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.
Massive Entertainment, known for the 2023 release Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, faced lukewarm reception with its Avatar game despite the franchise’s success in film. Though reviews were not overwhelmingly negative, subpar sales quickly led to discounts on the game just days after its release, casting doubt on its commercial viability. However, Outlaws might fare better simply due to the strength of the Star Wars brand, which is deeply ingrained in gaming culture with a history of dozens of titles over the years.
Hollywood IP continues to dominate the gaming charts, with three of the top 10 bestselling games in 2023 rooted in major film franchises. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Hogwarts Legacy was among them, outselling even Call of Duty. Yet, not all titles based on Hollywood properties succeed; Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League resulted in a $200 million loss for WBD’s gaming division earlier this year. As such, Outlaws enters a market where gamers are increasingly cautious of big-budget Hollywood IPs—particularly those tied to Star Wars, given the franchise’s inconsistent performance in gaming over the past decade.
Adding to the industry’s woes are the delayed projects like the indefinitely postponed remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse, which has seen little progress since its announcement in 2021. Despite these setbacks, Ubisoft completed work on Outlaws relatively quickly after first pitching the game in 2020. The game shares a premise with Amy Hennig’s canceled Star Wars project for EA, known as Ragtag.
With Star Wars films on hiatus and the mixed reception of Disney+ series, Outlaws could offer fans something fresh, filling a gap in the franchise. Encouragingly, EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was one of 2023’s top-selling games, signaling strong demand for well-crafted Star Wars experiences.
Ubisoft also benefits from the relative scarcity of major Star Wars titles on the horizon. While EA is developing another Jedi game, it has already canceled a planned first-person shooter set in the same universe. With publishers pivoting away from live-service models that have struggled to find success—such as the recent failure of Suicide Squad—Outlaws could resonate with players seeking single-player, RPG-style experiences.
Although Outlaws could face commercial challenges, it may still prove a significant opportunity for Disney as they seek a new hit in the gaming world. And with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle slated for release in early 2025, Disney’s IP experiment in gaming continues. Meanwhile, their $1.5 billion Fortnite deal ensures that revenue from in-game purchases keeps flowing, regardless of how these major AAA games perform.
SOURCE Variety VIP
Share:
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