Star Wars Outlaws is just days away from launching on the Switch 2, and fans are buzzing with excitement. But hold on—why isn’t Ubisoft saying more about this highly anticipated game? As the first major title making its way to Nintendo’s latest console, the hype is palpable, yet the silence around the game is deafening. Is it because the performance reports aren’t looking too rosy?
As of now, Star Wars Outlaws sits proudly as the 10th best-selling game on the Switch 2 eShop, thanks to a flurry of digital pre-orders. However, you won’t catch a glimpse of it on the show floor at PAX West 2025. Instead, while fans are getting their hands on big titles like Elden Ring and Borderlands 4, the demo for Star Wars Outlaws is tucked away behind closed doors. According to a hands-on video from the YouTube channel GVG, the game was only playable in a controlled environment, and even worse, they couldn’t share any direct footage of it in action.
What did GVG get to experience? An early segment set inside a Star Destroyer, followed by a thrilling space battle. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Reports indicate that the frame rate frequently dipped below 30fps, and the visual quality was hit or miss, swinging between decent and downright unimpressive. To add salt to the wound, GVG didn’t even get a taste of the open-world segments on various planets. Talk about a letdown!
Concerns about the game’s performance on the Switch 2 have been swirling for a while now. During a Partner Nintendo Direct earlier this summer, Ubisoft only dedicated a mere two minutes to showcase the game, most of which was spent with developers talking rather than presenting actual gameplay. The snippets that did make it to the audience didn’t exactly dazzle, leaving many wondering just how much the game had been downgraded from its PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S counterparts.
Interestingly, it seems that Ubisoft might have more on its plate than just Star Wars Outlaws. Speculations are rife that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is also in line for a Switch 2 port. This leads to the burning question: has Ubisoft been pouring more resources into optimizing Shadows, knowing it’s a larger franchise, while leaving Outlaws to fend for itself? After all, Shadows was delayed due to the challenges faced by Outlaws during its launch last year.
Currently, the landscape of third-party Switch 2 ports can be divided into two distinct categories. On one hand, you have games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Street Fighter 6, which manage to deliver an experience that rarely reminds you that you’re playing on less powerful hardware. On the flip side, titles like Hitman World of Assassination fall short of expectations, feeling like a noticeable downgrade, despite recent improvements like a capped frame rate option.
It seems that Elden Ring, which struggled with performance issues in its open-world sections, and now Star Wars Outlaws, are both swinging towards the less favorable bucket. In fact, even Bandai Namco tried to keep footage of their upcoming Switch 2 game under wraps at Gamescom 2025, but at least that title lacks a release date. The looming question remains—unless a day-one patch or a series of upgrades can save Outlaws on Switch 2, will Shadows end up in the same “meh” category of ports?
As we gear up for the launch of Star Wars Outlaws, it’s hard not to feel a mix of anticipation and concern. Will it live up to the expectations set by its predecessors? Or will it flop under the weight of the Switch 2’s hardware limitations? Only time will tell, and we’re all eagerly waiting to find out. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for the latest reviews, news, and tips!
In the meantime, the Nintendo Switch 2 continues to fly off the shelves, outpacing its predecessor in the U.S. Whether the next Nintendo showcase will coincide with Mario’s 40th anniversary remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: the gaming community is buzzing with anticipation for what’s to come. And who knows? Maybe Indiana Jones isn’t the only major Xbox title making its way to the Switch 2 next year. Stay tuned!
