The Tragedy of Star Wars Outlaws

[00:10] Ubisoft needed a win. In fact, after

[00:13] years of burning through cash on

[00:14] canceled projects and repeatedly delayed

[00:16] games that failed to meet sales

[00:18] expectations, Ubisoft needed multiple

[00:21] wins.

[00:21] >> [music]

[00:21] >> Seauite executives and analysts at one

[00:24] time predicted Star Wars Outlaws would

[00:26] provide the family-owned French

[00:27] publisher with a shot at financial

[00:29] recovery. It too fell well below

[00:31] commercial expectations despite

[00:33] heralding the next epoch [music] of Star

[00:35] Wars games.

[00:39] >> Okay, get ready.

[00:43] >> For non one decade, Electronic Arts

[00:45] exclusively held the rights to develop

[00:47] and publish Star Wars branded

[00:49] interactive media. Two Battlefront

[00:51] revivals spawned from the multi-year

[00:53] agreement alongside Respawn

[00:54] Entertainment's Star Wars Jedi series

[00:56] and EA Motives dog fighting adventure

[00:58] Star Wars Squadrons. These releases

[01:01] enjoyed varying degrees of success.

[01:03] However, general consensus ultimately

[01:05] labeled the EA era disappointing at best

[01:08] and an abject failure at worst.

[01:10] >> You [ __ ] it up again. The 2021

[01:14] announcement of Outlaws then generated

[01:16] much excitement, though the anticipation

[01:18] waned as the release date drew near. Not

[01:21] even the fun of fulfilling brand

[01:23] specific space and scoundrel fantasies

[01:25] could distract from the open world

[01:26] titles various flaws. Middling review

[01:28] scores and insufficient sales made

[01:30] matters worse, complicating Ubisoft's

[01:33] highly publicized financial struggles.

[01:35] >> Um, that follows a rough [music] time

[01:37] for the company. They had issued a

[01:39] profit warning recently. They've been

[01:41] disappointed by the release of an

[01:43] important game, a Star Wars game.

[01:45] >> Again, the Assassin's Creed maker needed

[01:47] a win. After hedging its bets on space

[01:50] fairing rogues, the publisher felt

[01:51] compelled to bank on outside help for

[01:54] its continued survival.

[01:55] >> We know they're already an investor

[01:57] alongside the Gimmo [music] family. But

[01:59] would Chinese buyers be able to get

[02:01] their hands on a prized French treasure?

[02:04] >> This is the tragedy of Star [music] Wars

[02:06] Outlaws.

[02:10] >> [music]

[02:20] [music]

[02:33] >> On January 11th, 2021, [music]

[02:35] Lucasfilm's previously defunct gaming

[02:37] division returned in the form of

[02:38] Lucasfilm games. Surprising news that

[02:41] marked the first step towards expanding

[02:43] the brand footprint across video games.

[02:46] The EA exclusivity deal, which dated

[02:48] back to 2013, ended just a couple of

[02:51] days later. Senior vice president of

[02:53] games at Disney, Jean Shop, explained

[02:56] the Madden publisher would remain a very

[02:58] strategic and important partner, but

[03:00] told Wired, [music] "We did feel like

[03:02] there was room for others. Not unlike

[03:04] the Marvel games approach, Disney and

[03:06] Lucasfilm games wanted to spread the

[03:08] field by collaborating with an array of

[03:10] game creators. Enter Ubisoft and the

[03:12] crew best known for The Division,

[03:14] Massive Entertainment. During the E3

[03:17] 2018 trade show, where in Massive

[03:19] unveiled The Division 2, the studios

[03:21] then managing director, David Poffeld,

[03:24] had a run-in with Disney executives at a

[03:26] cafe out front. Massive already appeared

[03:28] on Disney's short list of potential

[03:30] future partners. Thus, the meetup

[03:32] revolved around what such a partnership

[03:34] would entail. The result, a pitch for an

[03:37] openw world adventure highlighting the

[03:38] galaxy's seed underbelly.

[03:41] Concept work began roughly one week

[03:43] before co lockdowns in early 2020.

[03:46] Senior developers took a two-e break,

[03:48] then shifted into remotely mapping out

[03:50] core ideas for the project. One constant

[03:53] remained presented throughout the

[03:54] brainstorming sessions. They would

[03:56] forego the usual Star Wars video game

[03:59] trappings of focalizing the Jedi or

[04:01] rebel forces to instead craft a hero's

[04:03] journey centering the scoundrel

[04:05] archetype. The Division 2 team putting

[04:07] its live service bonafides in the rear

[04:09] view led production efforts,

[04:11] specifically envisioning an openw world

[04:12] experience filter through the lens of

[04:14] more [music] contained storytelling.

[04:17] Lucas Film Games went beyond simply

[04:19] approving Massu Scoundro fantasy

[04:21] proposal. The former ostensibly

[04:23] determined the game's setting by

[04:24] illuminating developers about a one-year

[04:26] period in Star Wars lore sandwiched

[04:29] between The Empire Strikes Back and

[04:31] Return of the Jedi. As creative director

[04:34] Julian Gerity told Comic Book Resources,

[04:36] "This period suited the scoundrel angle

[04:38] well because it followed the Rebel

[04:40] Alliance's defeat at the Battle of Hoth.

[04:42] Such a devastating loss precipitated the

[04:45] Empire's rise in dominance, thereby

[04:47] forcing the Rebel retreat into hiding.

[04:49] The unceasing conflict between these two

[04:51] factions constituted a boon for the

[04:53] underworld. Criminal syndicates across

[04:55] the galaxy exploited the ensuing

[04:57] turmoil. Suddenly finding themselves a

[04:59] wash in wealthb buildinging

[05:01] opportunities. It made sense for an open

[05:03] world title set against this backdrop to

[05:05] track the dealings of a Han Soloike

[05:07] outlaw.

[05:08] >> Uh had a slight weapons malfunction, but

[05:11] uh everything's perfectly all right now.

[05:13] We're fine. We're all fine here now.

[05:15] Thank you. How are you? According to

[05:18] Geri though, the developers never

[05:20] considered Han Solo as a possible

[05:22] protagonist. Having decided in NASA

[05:24] ideation phases that they would pursue

[05:26] original stories with unique characters,

[05:28] a [music] brand new character would

[05:30] undertake the scrappy underdog role.

[05:32] Their backstory seated in hardship while

[05:34] their relatively standard capabilities

[05:36] promoted stealth and combat-based

[05:38] gameplay mechanics. Massive invented K

[05:41] vest to play the part of a common

[05:43] pickpocket who grew up in the Kanto bite

[05:45] location created for the last Jedi. The

[05:48] Star Wars Outlaws narrative introduced

[05:49] Kay as a troublemaker with a bounty on

[05:51] her head. Her sole chance at freedom

[05:53] reliant on the successful completion of

[05:55] an impossible heist. Much went into

[05:57] making Kay relatable and believable from

[06:00] both a character design and casting

[06:02] perspective. For the game and former

[06:04] cover story, associate art director

[06:06] Martha Yoners recalled how artist

[06:08] created nearly every facet of the

[06:10] protagonist design with intent to

[06:11] reflect her outlaw ccentric identity.

[06:14] The broken nose and scars typified a

[06:16] survivor who lived rough. Her hair pin

[06:19] proved functional and fashionable since

[06:21] it doubled as a lockpicking tool.

[06:26] >> What' we get into, buddy? In addition,

[06:28] massive targeted personality traits that

[06:31] differentiated K from other modern

[06:32] gaming protagonists whose overconfidence

[06:34] and sarcastic qualities were often not

[06:37] believable. Outlaws as wisecracking

[06:39] scoundrel needed to be an identifiably

[06:41] flawed individual at the beginning of

[06:43] their journey. Casting Jinny and Georgia

[06:45] star Humberly Gonzalez helped further

[06:47] flesh out Kay's myriad layers. The

[06:49] developers re-evaluated the character

[06:51] following Gonzalez's hiring. in

[06:53] particular adding more humor inspired by

[06:55] the gung-ho nature in her performance.

[06:57] But Outlaws wasn't a oneperson show by

[07:00] any means. Another differentiating

[07:02] factor manifested in the creation of an

[07:04] alien creature named Nyx, who assumed

[07:05] the role of the game's second [music]

[07:07] lead. Massive conceived Nyx in

[07:09] conjunction with Lucasfilm games,

[07:11] thereby inventing a new species in the

[07:13] Star Wars universe called Merkel.

[07:15] Originating from an unspecified

[07:17] rainforest planet, this axelottalike

[07:19] critter was developed to star alongside

[07:21] Caves and bring a unique take to the

[07:23] scoundrel archetype. Nyx consequently

[07:26] played the part of more than just a

[07:27] sweet and helpful pet companion. The

[07:29] Merkel could also exhibit fiercely

[07:31] protective behaviors.

[07:38] blaster.

[07:40] >> To ensure these disperate [music] traits

[07:42] pervaded the moment to moment action,

[07:44] the team molded Nyx with the properties

[07:46] of several realworld creatures. His

[07:48] helpful qualities were derived from a

[07:50] behavioral pattern seen in lemurs

[07:51] [music] and monkeys. Meanwhile, reptiles

[07:54] influenced his rougher tendencies.

[07:55] Players could dispatch the animal during

[07:57] stealth encounters [music] to distract

[07:59] guards, for example, then later have him

[08:01] sneakily activate the explosive devices

[08:03] equipped by enemy NPCs.

[08:06] Still, the crew at Massive knew that

[08:08] despite their efforts in going against

[08:09] the grain, they were facing an uphill

[08:11] battle. A one-sided battle really, given

[08:14] the public had widely reduced all

[08:16] Ubisoft openw world games to bloated

[08:18] content farms. [music] The studio went

[08:20] out of its way to change the narrative

[08:22] in Outlaw's favor by prioritizing

[08:24] meaningful interactions and worthwhile

[08:26] exploration opportunities. Yet, not even

[08:29] The Division creators could turn the

[08:30] tide in this regard.

[08:40] >> [music]

[08:43] >> Capturing the 1970s Star Wars aesthetic

[08:46] constituted a focal point for

[08:47] developers, many of whom were longtime

[08:50] fans eager to honor the series. [music]

[08:52] One way they accomplished as much rested

[08:54] in the development of an in-engine

[08:55] camera lens that replicated cinema

[08:57] lenses of the 70s. Speaking with

[09:00] gamesindustry.biz, biz. Julian Gerity

[09:02] noted the feature enabled camera

[09:03] distortion, lens flares, and a

[09:05] panovision lens vignetting chromatic

[09:07] aberration. Lucasfilm provided Rogue

[09:10] One's camera values as well, allowing

[09:12] Outlaw's designers to match the visual

[09:14] flare of the original trilogy through

[09:16] modern technology.

[09:18] Naturally, quality gameplay mechanics

[09:20] proved just as integral. Massive knew

[09:22] well the reputation of the Ubisoft house

[09:25] style, which endured years of critique

[09:27] since Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and

[09:29] Watchd Dogs all seemed cut from the same

[09:31] cloth in some respects. But as Garity

[09:34] pointed out, Massive itself sprung from

[09:36] different roots entirely. Ubisoft had

[09:39] internally incubated most of its other

[09:40] teams, whereas the Swedish company broke

[09:43] ground independently, then found a home

[09:45] with Vendi before the 2008 Activision

[09:47] merger resulted in Ubisoft acquiring the

[09:50] studio. Such unique DNA inspired a

[09:53] relatively foreign approach to openw

[09:54] world development. For instance, instead

[09:56] of traditional upgrade trees, K's

[09:59] improvements stemmed from players

[10:00] seeking out experts in their craft,

[10:02] building a Padawan and masteresque

[10:04] relationship that set the protagonist on

[10:06] an adventure culminating in brand new

[10:08] skills. Everything is ingrained in the

[10:10] people and the world, Gity said of the

[10:12] method. Nowhere was this more apparent

[10:14] than in Outlaws's reputation system,

[10:17] which determined how the four in-game

[10:19] factions treated the aonomous scoundrel.

[10:22] Separated into six tiers, the system

[10:24] weighed heavily on the player's ability

[10:25] to earn unique rewards like cosmetic

[10:28] items and weapon upgrades. A terrible

[10:30] standing with a faction blocked Kay from

[10:32] entering certain territories, in turn,

[10:34] robbing her of new job opportunities.

[10:37] Meanwhile, reaching higher standings

[10:39] rewarded special gifts. Smaller actions

[10:41] like stealing affected the tally in

[10:43] their own right, the ensuing

[10:45] consequences adding up over time.

[10:48] >> What they think would happen.

[10:50] >> Of course, the feature ran the risk of

[10:52] feeling formulaic, considering players

[10:54] could increase their standings by

[10:56] completing factionspecific contracts,

[10:58] after which an opportunity to betray the

[11:00] contractor arose. Rinse and repeat.

[11:04] These inventive mechanics made all the

[11:05] difference though, especially during a

[11:07] period where in questions abound about

[11:09] whether openw world Ubisoft fatigue had

[11:11] picked up steam. This semblance of

[11:14] player agency didn't begin and end with

[11:16] reputation either. It was equally

[11:18] conveyed via tools letting the user

[11:20] express how Kay managed her

[11:21] interpersonal skills. Since not every

[11:24] situation necessitated blaster fire, the

[11:26] developers built tools that provided

[11:28] agency and conversations through

[11:30] consequential dialogue choices. I hope

[11:33] you know what you're doing.

[11:35] >> You are making a terrible mistake. The

[11:38] Hive will never survive.

[11:40] >> Simply put, Massive made doubly sure its

[11:43] sandbox played differently than anything

[11:44] else Ubisoft had on the market. The

[11:47] speeder and ship mechanics were designed

[11:49] by an ex- Criterion staffer with ties to

[11:51] the Battlefront series. Kay would

[11:53] encounter faces old and new on her

[11:55] journey, including iconic figures like

[11:57] Jabba the Hut and Lando Calissian.

[11:59] Familiar locations would be as easily

[12:01] accessible as never-beforeseen loces.

[12:04] Outlaws seemed nothing if not a love

[12:06] letter to the storied sci-fi brand. Yet,

[12:08] the response to the game's first trailer

[12:11] indicated the uphill battle showed no

[12:13] sign of slowing down.

[12:23] Lucasfilm Games has been busy. They

[12:25] announced their return as a brand on

[12:27] Monday and a new Indiana Jones game in

[12:29] partnership with Bethesda yesterday.

[12:31] Today, Lucasfilm Games and Ubisoft say

[12:33] they are working on a storydriven openw

[12:36] world Star Wars game. But what does that

[12:38] mean for EA?

[12:39] >> News of Ubisoft's Star Wars project made

[12:41] the rounds in January 2021, the same day

[12:44] the Electronic Arts exclusivity deal

[12:46] concluded. Details were scarce with

[12:48] Ubisoft merely confirming a

[12:50] narrative-driven openw world experience

[12:52] powered by Snowdrop. The proprietary

[12:54] engine originally built for The [music]

[12:55] Division. Star Wars Outlaws entered the

[12:57] limelight in full during Xbox's June

[13:00] 2023 games showcase. A cinematic trailer

[13:03] unveiled Kess and Nyx. [music] Its quick

[13:05] cuts teasing the types of ground and

[13:07] spaceflight action the duo would face in

[13:09] game. [music] Reactions were fairly

[13:11] mixed. Many likened it to previously

[13:13] canceled projects like Star Wars 1313

[13:15] [music]

[13:16] and the shelved rag tag project once

[13:18] helmed by Uncharted creator Amy [music]

[13:20] Henig. Some skeptics filled comment

[13:22] sections with their doubts about

[13:24] venturing into a Ubisoft sandbox. Others

[13:26] expressed exhaustion at the thought of

[13:28] yet another story set during the

[13:30] Skywalker saga. And then there were

[13:33] those who complained about the female

[13:34] lead and what her gender meant for the

[13:36] story and its themes. Skepticism made

[13:39] way for cautious optimism shortly

[13:41] thereafter. Once Mass debuted 10 minutes

[13:43] of gameplay footage at Ubisoft Forward

[13:45] 2023. Star Wars fans had high hopes for

[13:49] K's droid ally ND5 wanted to see more

[13:52] gunplay and couldn't believe how great

[13:54] the ship combat looked. The new game

[13:57] oozed potential. Yet that burst of

[13:59] momentum lasted only a short while.

[14:02] Kay's physical appearance became an easy

[14:04] target, predominantly spurred on by

[14:06] detractors debating her attractiveness

[14:08] or the perceived lack thereof. The

[14:10] character modeled after Humberly

[14:11] Gonzalez's likeness was called ugly,

[14:14] woke, and everything in between. Gity

[14:16] dismissed the comments as bad faith

[14:19] criticism, nonsense unworthy of

[14:21] response. The director stated during a

[14:23] chat with the Washington Post, "All we

[14:25] can do is make the best [music] game

[14:27] possible." Undoubtedly, the pressure to

[14:29] be the best mounted after Ubisoft

[14:31] unveiled the title's special editions

[14:33] priced at $110. The gold edition

[14:36] included 3 days of early access and the

[14:38] season pass. The $130 Ultimate Bundle

[14:42] featured the same contents alongside

[14:44] exclusive cosmetic items and a digital

[14:46] artbook. All who purchased Outlaws at

[14:48] launch received it in an inferior state

[14:51] compared to those who waited. However,

[14:53] the game's earliest adopters were hit

[14:54] the hardest by its shortcomings.

[15:15] >> [music]

[15:16] >> You can be pilot Imperial shuttle.

[15:19] Can you? The review embargo for Star

[15:22] Wars Outlaws lifted on August 26th,

[15:25] 2024, one day before early access began

[15:28] and 4 days ahead of the wide release.

[15:30] Lukewarm reviews flooded the web.

[15:32] evidenced in the Metacritic score

[15:33] settling around the mid70s across PC,

[15:36] PS5, and Xbox series platforms. Many

[15:39] critics thought it wonderfully faithful

[15:41] to the Star Wars mythos and aesthetic

[15:43] the scoundrel fantasy developers spent

[15:45] months touting had been achieved in

[15:47] full, courtesy of Kay's characterization

[15:49] and the improvisational swashbuckling

[15:51] gameplay. Outlaw's progression system

[15:54] garnered his fair share of praise, as

[15:55] did the reputation mechanic. Even the

[15:58] openw world design earned a few high

[15:59] marks with several outlets praising

[16:01] Massa for sideststepping Ubisoft's

[16:03] divisive formula. So where did the

[16:05] ostensible first ever open world Star

[16:07] Wars game fall short? Movement didn't

[16:10] feel sticky enough. Repetitive puzzles

[16:12] disrupted the flow. Some critics

[16:14] lamented the predominantly empty open

[16:16] world and others found the story bland

[16:18] at best. Game skinny dubbed Outlaws a

[16:21] familiar game that would neither offend

[16:23] nor astound. But the most consistent

[16:26] criticism centered on the litany of

[16:28] technical wos. Even Outlaws's incredibly

[16:30] engrossing qualities couldn't distract

[16:32] from issues such as graphical hiccups,

[16:34] missing NPCs, and broken quests.

[16:40] Players who paid extra for early access

[16:42] especially got the raw end of the deal.

[16:44] One day following the early access

[16:46] launch, Massive Entertainment pushed out

[16:48] a patch featuring bug fixes and 40fps

[16:51] support. The update seemed promising

[16:54] enough, yet an untold number of PS5

[16:56] players loaded their existing save files

[16:58] post patch and found themselves stranded

[17:01] in space with no way out. Unfortunately,

[17:04] the hot fix meant to resolve this

[17:06] game-breaking error came with a caveat.

[17:08] Forcing players to start over with a new

[17:10] save, lest they encountered further

[17:12] progression blockers. If these problems

[17:15] weren't enough, stealth seemed

[17:17] inherently butchered at launch due to

[17:19] instafail states that locked users into

[17:21] unfairly punishing difficulty spikes.

[17:23] Julian Garity acknowledged the mistake

[17:25] and insisted the game would receive the

[17:27] necessary fixes. However, the patch

[17:30] didn't go live until Outlaw's 1.4.0

[17:33] update arrived that November, in which

[17:35] developers cut most mission-based

[17:37] stealth requirements. By then, such

[17:39] moves were considered too little too

[17:41] late. Ubisoft's bottom line had already

[17:44] suffered and at a crucial time no less.

[17:46] [music]

[17:46] Analysts and investors alike sounded the

[17:49] alarm, all forecasting the turmoil that

[17:51] awaited if future releases, namely the

[17:53] much delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows,

[17:56] failed to [music] meet expectations.

[18:06] tweet that means Ubisoft share price has

[18:07] fallen to a near 10-year low since the

[18:10] release of Star Wars Outlaws. Analysts

[18:13] are attributing it to a poor than

[18:14] expected start for the game. At

[18:15] >> a time when the stock price is €10 a

[18:17] share, down from over €100 a share back

[18:20] [music] in 2018. How did Ubisoft get

[18:22] here? How does this happen?

[18:24] >> Just today, it dropped 20%. What once

[18:26] traded at €94 is now trading for €9.2.

[18:31] This is dire. September 3rd, 2024 was

[18:35] far from a good day for Ubisoft. This

[18:37] otherwise ordinary Tuesday marked the

[18:39] second consecutive [music] 24-hour

[18:41] period where Ubisoft shares fell

[18:43] precipitously. Reuters reported the

[18:45] shares were trading at their lowest

[18:47] levels since 2015 and adding to their

[18:49] over 30% drop since the start of 2024. X

[18:53] Defiance's [music] lower than expected

[18:54] performance earlier in the year

[18:56] contributed to the deficit as well,

[18:58] leaving the belleaguered company in a

[18:59] rather precarious position. Ubisoft

[19:02] still had faith in Outlaws as of July,

[19:04] though given CFO Frederick Dugay's

[19:06] confidence that the game would boost

[19:07] second quarter net bookings. Plus, at

[19:10] the time, AC Shadows' mid- November due

[19:12] date appeared poised to bolster

[19:14] financial recovery efforts after years

[19:16] of negative cash flow driven by

[19:17] recurring game cancellations and delays.

[19:20] The Star Wars project's soft sales and

[19:23] the ensuing stock market response

[19:24] inspired at least one investor, however

[19:26] minor, [music] to pen a strongly worded

[19:28] letter. Slovakia based hedge fund AJ

[19:31] Investments, holding less than 1% of all

[19:33] shares, urged Ubisoft's board of

[19:36] directors to consider selling the

[19:37] company or going private. The open

[19:39] letter further proposed cost cutting

[19:41] measures [music] and the resignation of

[19:43] CEO Eve Gimmo. Notably, the share price

[19:47] suffered another sharp decline when AC

[19:49] Shadows moved from November 2024 to an

[19:52] early 2025 launch window. Within days of

[19:55] the news, AJ Investments issued a second

[19:57] letter claiming to have mustered support

[19:59] from 10% of the publisher shareholders.

[20:02] The late September notice read in part,

[20:04] "We call on the management of Ubisoft to

[20:06] allow the sale of the company to third

[20:08] parties or private equity firms at a

[20:10] fair price." By this point, Ubisoft HQ

[20:13] had already acknowledged Star Wars

[20:14] Outlaws' poor [music] performance, but

[20:16] insisted support would persist unabated.

[20:19] Developers were mobilizing to swiftly

[20:21] implement a series of updates to polish

[20:23] and improve the player experience with

[20:25] hopes of appeasing a wider audience just

[20:27] in time for the holiday season. If all

[20:30] worked in Ubisoft's favor, the changes

[20:32] could position Star Wars Outlaws as a

[20:34] strong long-term performer. The

[20:36] aforementioned 1.4.0 title update helped

[20:39] get the ball rolling since it removed

[20:41] stealth requirements, improved facial

[20:43] animations, and addressed a laundry list

[20:45] of bugs. Outlaws's first season [music]

[20:48] pass installment arrived alongside the

[20:49] patch, introducing the wildcard

[20:51] narrative expansion, [music] wherein

[20:53] Kest crossed paths with Lando Calissian.

[20:56] And still, Outlaws struggled to attract

[20:58] an audience, merely ranking 47th on

[21:01] Europe's [music] bestselling games list

[21:02] for 2024 and selling less than Respawn

[21:05] Entertainment Star Wars Jedi Survivor,

[21:08] which hit stores [music] one year prior.

[21:10] A change in tactics was in order for the

[21:11] sake of the company's survival.

[21:15] >> Yes. So in terms of u strategic options

[21:18] um yes we as as we said [music] early

[21:20] January we appointed

[21:22] u advisor so at the very beginning of

[21:25] the month um [music] so now the process

[21:28] is ongoing uh of course we can't share

[21:31] uh much more than than that but we are

[21:33] >> the French publisher wouldn't exactly

[21:35] leave its disappointing 2024 in the past

[21:38] instead 2025 opened with an unexpected

[21:41] investor call during which leadership

[21:43] announced the appointment of advisers

[21:44] tasked with actively exploring various

[21:47] strategic and capitalistic options to

[21:49] unlock the full value potential of

[21:51] Ubisoft assets. In March, Ubisoft

[21:54] revealed the stabilization effort had

[21:55] resulted in the jointly established new

[21:57] gaming [music] subsidiary based on the

[21:59] Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Tom

[22:01] Clancy's Rainbow 6 properties. Chinese

[22:03] tech [music] giant 10 cent, already

[22:05] owning a 9.99% stake in Ubisoft, would

[22:08] invest€1.16

[22:10] billion euros for a minority stake of

[22:12] about 25% in the entity. Executives

[22:15] claimed [music] the joint venture valued

[22:16] at approximately €4 billion would

[22:18] increase the quality of narrative-driven

[22:20] solo experiences, expand multiplayer

[22:23] offerings with increased frequency of

[22:25] content release, and introduce

[22:26] free-to-play touch points. Assassin's

[22:29] Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow 6 were

[22:31] singled out because they constituted

[22:33] three of the largest brands under the

[22:34] Ubisoft umbrella. The publisher

[22:36] partially addressed what this meant for

[22:38] other franchises, explaining in a

[22:40] statement that it planned [music] to

[22:41] focus on nurturing the development of

[22:43] iconic IP, including Ghost Recon and The

[22:46] Division, outside of the 10-centent

[22:48] backed subsidiary. As the two companies

[22:51] ironed out the details behind [music]

[22:52] the scenes, Massive Entertainment

[22:54] continued delivering fresh Star Wars

[22:56] Outlaws content. The most significant

[22:58] release arriving in May 2025 with a

[23:01] pirate's fortune. Like Wildcard, the

[23:03] second story pack saw Kas meet a classic

[23:06] character, Hondo Anaka of the Clone Wars

[23:08] fame, and embark on an action-packed

[23:10] adventure in local both iconic and new.

[23:14] A pirate's fortune represented the last

[23:15] of Outlaw's consequential content drops.

[23:18] A reality that didn't mesh with the one

[23:20] previously envisioned by creative

[23:22] director Julian Gerity, who once told

[23:24] Games Radar he hoped to support the

[23:26] adventure for years, likely in a fashion

[23:28] resembling AC Valhalla's multi-year road

[23:30] map. Comparable to The Division 2's

[23:33] production, 600 developers across 11

[23:36] studios brought the disperate parts of

[23:38] Outlaws together in a 4-year time span.

[23:40] They reportedly did so on a budget 30%

[23:43] higher than that of Assassin's Creed

[23:44] Mirage. Ubisoft hasn't disclosed sales

[23:47] numbers, though insider gaming sources

[23:49] alleged the title moved a poultry 1

[23:51] million units within roughly 1 month of

[23:53] release, indicating a significant

[23:55] financial loss when considering how

[23:56] poorly Outlaws sold during its debut

[23:58] year. While the future looks bleak for

[24:01] this specific Star Wars tale, Ubisoft

[24:03] may come out the other side of it. Worse

[24:05] for wear, but still kicking nonetheless.

[24:07] The new division partially owned by

[24:09] 10centent began operations in October

[24:11] 2025 under the name Vantage Studios and

[24:14] the pair completed the investment deal

[24:16] weeks later. The Chinese conglomerate

[24:18] holding 26.32%

[24:20] economic interest in the studio

[24:21] exclusively controlled and consolidated

[24:24] by Ubisoft. How the latter intends to

[24:26] manage assets that exist outside the

[24:28] Vantage purview remains [music] a

[24:30] mystery. Ubisoft has long kept itself

[24:33] afloat through arguably untenable

[24:34] operations. [music] As of March 2022,

[24:37] more than 20,000 people were employed at

[24:39] in-house outfits around the globe, a

[24:41] headcount reduced by 1,700 two years

[24:44] thereafter. Pundits called the

[24:46] corporation bloated even after the

[24:47] rampant layoffs. Dissatisfied

[24:49] shareholders like AJ Investments called

[24:51] [music] it mismanaged. Thus, reason

[24:53] suggests a shakeup was a long time

[24:55] coming. Of course, the blame shouldn't

[24:58] rest solely at the feet of Star Wars

[24:59] Outlaws and Massive Entertainment, but

[25:01] the commercial failure poured salt into

[25:03] a festering wound. [music] The tragedy

[25:05] of the KS adventure lies with the

[25:07] management whose questionable

[25:08] decision-making expected [music] several

[25:10] risky endeavors to pull a company back

[25:12] from the brink when it was already

[25:14] dangerously teetering over [music] the

[25:16] edge.

[25:22] >> So

[25:24] [music] where do we go next?

[25:28] Anywhere we want. Andy.

[25:35] [music]

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