Ubisoft Is Pulling Out All The Stops To Ruin Star Wars Outlaws

Back in the day, if you purchased a game, you owned it fair and square. Now, that’s not the case. Gaming has changed a lot over the years, for better or worse, but the fleeting sense of ownership is a very big “NO” in my book. Unfortunately, it’s all a cry on deaf years, as the right to own games is slowly but surely slipping from our hands.

The biggest offender of this is probably Ubisoft, a company that’s not even hiding its intentions at this point. Ubisoft wants you to start accepting that you cannot own your games, whether you like it or not, and is modifying its strategies accordingly, too. The latest victim of this is Star Wars Outlaws.

Why Would The Disc Of Star Wars Outlaws Require Internet?

Before I begin, I should let you know that this was a game I was eagerly looking forward to. The initial trailers and impressions gave off a feeling that this is not your usual formulaic Ubisoft game. That might still be true, but replacing one evil with another takes us nowhere. Imagine my disappointment when I saw that the company indeed pulled a “Ubisoft” after all.

The box art of the Star Wars Outlaws Physical edition carries a short note at the bottom, enough to shake you to the core. The note states “An internet connection is required to install the game.” What does that mean? Well, it is Ubisoft saying “Did you think you could own the game if you got the physical edition? Think again.”

according to box art, internet is required to install Star Wars Outlaws https://t.co/3motsKn1L0 pic.twitter.com/n1UC0ZTWE3

— Wario64 (@Wario64) April 9, 2024

The need for an internet connection to even install the game implies that the disc is nothing more than a glorified decoration for the same license you get when purchasing digital. The game is completely at the whims of Ubisoft. It pulls the plug, and there goes your purchase. Whether you have a digital or physical copy, it doesn’t matter. Ubisoft owns it, not you.

There’s no other way to explain this. There are cases where Day One patches are released and thus internet is necessary, but that’s a different thing. The entire game is still on the disc, which can be copied and played. But tying even the installation of the game to the internet is Ubisoft’s way of spitting in the face of your ownership rights.

What the hell is going on at Ubisoft
byu/Traditional_Flan_210 inplaystation

Ubisoft’s Folly and Star Wars Outlaws’ Misfortune Doesn’t Stop There

And this was just the latest of Ubisoft’s ridiculousness in Star Wars Outlaws. If you think this was a low blow, wait till you hear what else the monster that is Ubisoft has been doing to ruin the game for me, and many other gamers, who are fed up with these anti-consumer and blatantly greedy tactics.

Not too long ago, it was revealed that Star Wars Outlaws will feature a Season Pass that comes extra and gives access to additional content. But, don’t be fooled. It was no “extra content,” the season pass is required for certain episodes and missions present in the game right on release.

Outlaws Pre-order and Ultimate Edition Cosmetics
byu/the_topher89 inStarWars

But no, you can’t have them for $70, we’re running a business here, not giving away stuff. If we give players access to the complete game as we should and do not charge extra for these short episodes, we’ll go bankrupt. How will we stay afloat if we start giving stuff that should very obviously be free, free? Can you believe this is what Ubisoft is pushing these days? 

Oh, and did you know? If you subscribe to Ubisoft’s $17.99/month service, you’ll get this extra stuff for free, stuff that should’ve been so regardless. Tell me you’ve run out of advertising ideas without telling me so. This is nothing more than just a shrewd scheme to trick people into giving Ubisoft more money. 

And if that wasn’t enough controversy, Ubisoft goes ahead and utterly butchers the design of the main character, despite having a genuinely beautiful and real model to base her on. Seeing this makes me agree that Stellar Blade indeed had designs grounded in reality. It’s the companies that decide to uglify things.

Alot of ppl don't like the main protagonist design in Star Wars Outlaws.

They should have made her resemble the real-life counterpart that plays her.

The real one has charisma and star power where the game version looks like a generic create a character model. https://t.co/fRJYY8Fr6D pic.twitter.com/FSvvZYzKGA

— Visual Fidelity (@VisualFidelity) April 9, 2024

Ubisoft Cannot Be Trusted, The Crew Is Proof

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, I will NOT live with not owning my games. Ubisoft is wrong if it thinks it can win any genuine following if this is how it wishes to treat its consumers from here on. And no, I’m not being dramatic and overthinking things. The way things are going, Star Wars Outlaws is going to be a tragedy, which is truly regrettable.

And Ubisoft needs to get comfortable with not getting my money anymore
byu/Professional_Job1154 inpcmasterrace

If you think I’m wrong, take a look at the recent closure of The Crew. First, Ubisoft closed the servers, and being online-only, the single-player mode was lost as well. But, you will be even more shocked by what it did next. The company started removing the game from libraries and taking away the licenses, making it inaccessible to everyone who bought it.

“Oh, you bought it with your hard-earned money? Well, it’s mine now, scram.” Believe it or not, a very similar fate awaits Star Wars Outlaws once Ubisoft decides to go crazy. This needs to be stopped; Ubisoft needs to see reason.