Star Wars Outlaws’ New Creative Director Promises Big Changes After Disappointing Sales

Ubisoft has released its first developer update for Star Wars Outlaws, with new creative director Drew Rechner promising big changes after the open world adventure debuted to disappointing sales.

Rechner said in the update that Ubisoft had been “gathering and actioning players’ feedback” since launch and has identified key areas where it can “elevate the game experience to better meet” player expectations.

Sentiments such as these are often seen in the wake of disastrous game launches but Star Wars Outlaws debuted to positive reviews. Poor sales shook a struggling Ubisoft, however, and it is now working to improve the game ahead of what it hopes will be a sales bump alongside its Steam launch and the holiday period.

This will result in Star Wars Outlaws getting revamped combat, stealth, and controls. “The first key area of improvement to the game is combat where we see a real opportunity to add more depth and excitement to the experience, further rewarding your tactics and precision,” Rechner said.

“Our second key area is stealth, which is not only about improving the readability and consistency of enemy detection, but also providing choice in how you want to approach each encounter.

“Finally, our third key area of focus is centered around the character controls, which means improving the reliability of cover, increasing the responsiveness of climbing and crouching, and generally improving the consistency of the controls overall.”

These changes will be made when Update 1.4 arrives on November 21, the same day Star Wars Outlaws launches on Steam. Players can expect more information on the changes in the coming weeks.

Update 1.3 arrived in October and brought a handful of big changes of its own, including improvements to stealth. Players were given “more flexibility in how they approach situations” alongside upgraded enemy activity to make gameplay feel more realistic.

Rechner moves into the Star Wars Outlaws creative director role as previous creative director, Julian Gerighty, turns his attention to The Division 3 at Massive Entertainment.

Ubisoft as a whole continues to be embattled by rumors of a takeover and other issues. The French publisher delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025, and has ditched Epic Games Store exclusivity for its PC games.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.