Ubisoft Execs are unphased by comments from viewers regarding the visual quality of Star Wars Outlaws seen in recent gameplay video. IGN realeased a 10-minute gameplay video earlier this week which has sparked a bit of controversy regarding the game’s “Gold” state. IGN has added a disclaimer to the video that it is not defaulting to the highest playback settings but, as can been seen by the above screenshot originally taken from the 4K stream, things still don’t look quite right. Also in the game’s defence, streaming video compression could be playing a factor in the perceived graphical issues.
The video, as of July 20, has 10,000 likes and 23,000 dislikes and has been viewed over a half million times. There are many comments stating how the game looks unpolished, bland and lacking detail, and even comparing explosion effects to a PlayStation 2 era game. Those are actually just the tip of the iceberg regarding the criticisms of what was shown in the video and led to a Bank of America analyst asking if the game should be delayed, during a recent Ubisoft earnings call. Ubisoft Execs seemed unphased by the negative comments and stated support for the game’s current state.
Support from the top (per GamesRadar+):
“The game has gone gold, so the date is well confirmed for August 30,”
Frederick Duguet – Chief Financial Officer
“We’ll shortly be seeing more content of very high quality and multiple hours that will really show the depths of the open world that is a key element of the promise to enjoy the exploration of the galaxy with multiple planets, so that should bode well for the game in terms of high-quality delivery,” added Duguet.
Ubisoft chief executive officer Yves Guillemot also showed support for the game by saying, “As we’ve said also for Star Wars, the level of quality of the world and the experience is really very high,” and added “We are really leveraging our engine, and I think people will love it.”
Regardless of graphical details the real question will be whether or not players feel the game is worthy of Ubisoft’s AAAA $80 price. Games don’t have to look perfect to be fun but if they cannot keep players engaged with their stories and characters then visual will not matter.