Ubisoft’s open world Stars Wars game may arrive sooner than 2025

Rumors are surrounding Ubisoft, who recently announced the biggest operating losses in the company’s history, with claims that the publisher’s new Star Wars game will be released within the next 12 months, maybe. The Assassins Creed publisher has seen major losses in recent years, mainly due to poor sales of the Assassins Creed franchise and the poor reception of Watch Dogs: Legion. Ubisoft announced a major overhaul of their offices as they shed over 700 employees and focused specifically on their major franchises.

In recent years Ubisoft has been criticized for lack of innovation on their premier franchises, including Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed. With new hardware and technology, games are becoming harder and harder to make annual releases as games are becoming more costly and time consuming to develop. Speculation is building that the open world Star Wars game announced in 2021 will be coming sooner rather than later.

Ubisoft has seen a massive overhaul in creative leadership which has caused delays in multiple franchises. CEO Yves Guillemot has been dealing with waves of sexual misconduct in leadership and what many employees claim as “toxic leadership.” Guillemot had told employees it was up to them to get the massive company back on track and didn’t take responsibility for a perceived lack of leadership.

All of this has mounted in speculation that the publisher needs a win. With the recent success of Respawn’s Jedi series and the EA and Lucasfilm deal coming to an end, Ubisoft is more than likely to put the Star Wars game out as soon as they can. Ubisoft has a chance to change the perception of Star Wars games from the backlash of EA, specifically during the Battlefront II launch and the backlash of loot boxes and pay-to-win mechanics which many argue ruining the games for casual players. The sad reality is in order to make this happen, The Division series has taken a back seat which could spell the demise for the Tom Clancy franchise as Ubisoft has also announced many new Assassins Creed games adding to the franchise.

In 2021, after the game was announced, Ubisoft published an interview on their blog with David Polfedlt, managing director at Massive Entertainment and Julian Gerighty, the creative director at the same studio.

When asked about creating a new game, Polfedlt stated:

"Curiosity has always been an important part of who we are and what we do here at Massive. We are driven by dreaming big and taking daring challenges that match our ambition, and during the past two decades this attitude has taken us to places no one thought we could reach."

Gerighty was asked the same question and stated:

"A New Hope was the first movie I saw at the cinema, the first VHS that I wore out, the first action figures that I craved. The characters, the planets, the ships, and the timeless stories became so familiar and loved that I have no doubt that they have become part of who I am."

With all of this information, Ubisoft needs to capitalize on the Star Wars game to get the company back on track from a bumpy recent years.

Currently, there is no official name or release date for Ubisoft’s Star Wars game. However, the company is expected to reveal more during the June 12th Summer Showcase. However, the next Fiscal Year for Ubisoft is April 2024 through March of 2025. When asked about when the game will be released, a spokesperson stated “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”

What do you hope to see in Ubisoft’s new Star Wars game?