When it comes to video game rumors and speculation, there is one thing that we constantly remind you to keep in your thoughts as the “details get spilled.” That’s that if you don’t hear the news directly from the developer or publisher, you must take it with a grain of salt. Why are we bringing that up? A few days ago, we wrote an article about Star Wars Outlaws, the upcoming title from Ubisoft set in a galaxy far, far away, and how a blurb from a Disney Parks post seemed to indicate that the game would be coming out in “late 2024.”
If you don’t remember what the post said about the game, it noted:
“Star Wars Outlaws, the open world Star Wars game, is set to release late this year,” the initial post stated. “The game lets you explore distinct planets across the galaxy, both iconic and new. You can risk it all as Kay Vess, an emerging scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life, along with her companion Nix. If you’re willing to take the risk, the galaxy is full of opportunity.”
Hearing that the game would arrive in “late 2024” gave fans hope that the gaming year would end with a bang and that things were well and truly in hand with the title’s development. However, as Kotaku notes, Ubisoft went in and changed things so that any mention of a release window is out of the text. They even got an email about it from Ubisoft saying it was “incorrect timing,” and that’s why they fixed things.
You could read this “update” in many ways, but we’ll take the simplest path here. Ubisoft knows all too well that when it comes to their open-world titles, they can be on track one day and then off the rails the next. As a result, delays can happen, and that means pushing the game out of that release window.
Not to mention, when making an original game within this property, fans are going to have the highest expectations in terms of visuals, story, gameplay, and everything in between. While it might be an internal projection to get the game out by “late 2024,” they also have to know that releasing it half-heartedly will hurt them big time.
That’s not to say it couldn’t still be released this year; it’s merely that they’re not trying to “tie it down” to a specific release window.