Xbox Game Pass adds several new games in January, including Star Wars Outlaws, Resident Evil Village, and more, with some titles leaving the library soon. Highlights include the first open-world Star Wars game, a remastered Final Fantasy, and various indie and AAA titles across multiple platforms.
Ubisoft is requesting voluntary layoffs from developers at Massive studio, which is behind games like The Division 2 and Star Wars Outlaws, as part of a restructuring to focus on core franchises and technologies, amid shifts in management and investment from Tencent.
The Nintendo Switch 2 offers impressive porting capabilities, allowing modern games like Star Wars Outlaws to run smoothly with stable 30 fps and ray-traced effects, setting a new high-water mark for handheld gaming performance. Despite some visual compromises and reliance on open-world Ubisoft formulas, the system demonstrates that well-optimized ports are achievable, raising expectations for future game releases on the platform.
Ubisoft released the first update for Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2, fixing visual, gameplay, UI, and stability issues, and announced a demo coming later this year.
Ubisoft announced that a demo for Star Wars Outlaws will be released later this year for Switch 2, following its launch on other platforms, allowing players to experience the game’s open-world adventure on Tatooine and beyond.
Ubisoft released the first update for the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws, focusing on performance enhancements, visual quality improvements, and bug fixes, including better graphics, stability, and UI adjustments.
Digital Foundry praises Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 as the most impressive port to date, highlighting its advanced image quality with DLSS, stable 30fps gameplay, and effective use of ray-tracing, making it a strong benchmark for the console's capabilities.
Digital Foundry's analysis of Star Wars Outlaws on Nintendo Switch 2 reveals stable performance with some cutbacks, including lower resolution (720p docked, 540p handheld), reduced asset quality, and scaled-back effects, but retains key features like ray tracing and DLSS support, with overall stable frame rates and some visual compromises.
Ubisoft explains that the use of Nintendo Switch 2's controversial Game Key Cards for Star Wars Outlaws is due to performance needs, as full game cartridges couldn't meet the quality targets, relying instead on disk streaming and downloads. Many third-party developers are also adopting key cards, with some like CDPR opting for physical cartridges, highlighting varied approaches to Switch 2 game releases.
Ubisoft explains that the Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws uses a Game-Key Card instead of a full cartridge due to the slower data transfer speeds of Switch 2 cartridges compared to internal storage, prioritizing game performance over manufacturing costs.
Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine developer explains that the physical release of Star Wars Outlaws on Nintendo Switch uses a game-key card due to technical limitations, specifically the Switch 2's inability to support disk streaming required for open-world environments, despite the game's manageable size of around 20GB.
Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 is a well-crafted port of an engaging adventure game set in the Star Wars universe, offering rich exploration, stealth, and combat, with solid performance and features like motion controls and cross-saves, despite some minor rough edges and familiar gameplay mechanics.
Good Vibes Gaming initially claimed Star Wars Outlaws ran poorly on Nintendo Switch 2 but later revised their stance after reviewing the game, which appears to be a solid port despite some downgrades from high-end consoles.
Initial impressions of the Switch 2 port of Star Wars Outlaws suggest it runs poorly, with low resolution and unstable framerate even in smaller environments, raising concerns about its performance upon release.
Star Wars Outlaws for Switch 2 is facing performance issues, with reports of low frame rates and visual downgrades during demos, raising concerns about its quality compared to other versions and the potential challenges Ubisoft faces in optimizing ports for the new hardware.