Star Wars fans are in for a treat this year, as Ubisoft’s highly-anticipated Star Wars Outlaws finally has a release date. Developed by Massive Entertainment and created with Lucasfilm Games, the open-world adventure game is slated to release on 30 August 2024.
Preorders are now open, with an early access perk for Gold or Digital Ultimate edition buyers, allowing them to play from 27 August. But while hype is at an all-time high for the game, a recent discovery has set alight some contention among fans.
Star Wars Outlaws Discs Are Worthless Without Internet
Star Wars Outlaws is a thrilling single-player adventure, which are far and few these days. This elevates the game’s hype, as you can expect it won’t have the predatory pricing systems that a lot of multiplayer games do, nor would it have annoying always-online DRM.
However, there’s a bit of a snag. While Outlaws won’t feature any MTX or DRM requirements, it seems you’ll need internet access for at least one part – installing the game. A tweet by Wario64 shows a close-up of the box art, and it mentions “Internet required to install the game.“
This means that the disc itself doesn’t contain a build of the game, but only an installer that needs to connect to the internet, and then download the build off Ubisoft’s servers. It’s disappointing that they chose to go in this direction, as it essentially renders the disc useless, as it won’t be able to install the game without internet.
Ubisoft Fans Are Split On The Decision
Fans are understandably enraged at Ubisoft, but some argue that since almost every gamer has internet access, this shouldn’t be an issue.
why should it need an internet connection if its a single player game? your argument is "the internet exists so everything should have to use it" and thats a really bad take
— THOT Provoking (@THOTProvokingAK) April 9, 2024
People will unforuntely complain about anything these days , yeh this is scummy from ubi but thats the state of the gaming industry =/
— Wλke™🐉 (@ISnak3I) April 9, 2024
Preservation, which is the whole point of buying a game physically
Can’t really keep a game if you gotta connect to a server to fill in what’s not on disc
— Archaeology Bird (@ArchaeologyBird) April 9, 2024
And it's not like we need it to play. Although I suppose that has yet to be seen.
— the third deadass (@kh0dee) April 9, 2024
Because today I played my copy of final fantasy 7 from 1998. Will the authentification server for this game be around in 25 years?
— Mr. Testosterone's Wild Ride (@GreyTheTick) April 9, 2024
I agree, honestly you've failed miserably in life if Internet is an issue for you. It's 2024, physical media like Blu-ray disc cannot hold the size of most games today. Part of it is local install, the rest has to be downloaded.
— ⚔️🥷🏽Jαყ Mყʂƚҽɾισ🥷🏽⚔️ (@ItsJayMysterio) April 9, 2024
The overwhelming sentiment is that Ubisoft shipping the disc with an installer doesn’t bode well for preservation, which is a valid point. Server and network outages still happen in 2024, and for them to temporarily void your ability to install a game is flagrant.
Not to mention, there’s no guarantee that Ubisoft servers will remain functional perpetually, so you’re basically buying a disc that isn’t assured to stand the test of time. Moreover, it can also affect the second-hand value of the disc, as it could be a one-time install.
The flip side of this argument is that everyone has internet access in 2024, and that the steep majority of players complaining about this won’t be facing any trouble downloading the game on launch day.
However, this is an issue that isn’t confined to the present. Game preservation is a hot topic among the DRM-infested online games of today, and a single-player title like Star Wars Outlaws going this route doesn’t set a good precedent.
