Imagine claiming that your game is exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X so that it can harness the power of the current-gen consoles, seeing it go and become one of the year’s best-selling games (and an overall decent outing), only to port it to older consoles despite still-ongoing performance issues, because, why not?
This is exactly what Electronic Arts is doing to Star Wars Jedi Survivor, which, by the way, is partly the reason for its year-on-year improvement in revenue as revealed in its latest earnings report.
EA announced during its August 1 earnings briefing that they’re now developing a PS4 and Xbox One port of Jedi: Survivor. This move, despite its unusual nature, makes sound financial sense, given the millions of dedicated players still glued to their older consoles.
Unveiled in April, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the successor to the 2019 Jedi: Fallen Order, initially side-stepped the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles to offer a “true new-gen experience.” The game’s narrative follows the journey of Cal Kestis, a Jedi survivor of the Clone Wars, who, along with a motley crew of fellow survivors, attempts to liberate the galaxy from the Empire’s grasp.
While the game ultimately delivered in terms of graphics, the overall lack of polishing despite the slight delay and plethora of still-existing issues, especially on the PC, marred what could’ve been an unblemished release for EA and Respawn.
EA didn’t confirm when these ports might come out but they reminded fans that they aren’t forgetting about the current versions of Jedi: Survivor. Reiterating that performance enhancements for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC are still a priority, EA promised updates as soon as possible.
The decision to embrace the last-gen consoles has raised eyebrows within the industry, not least because Jedi: Survivor was supposedly designed to push the limits of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Its compatibility with decade-old consoles, like the base Xbox One, will be interesting to monitor.
If nothing else, this backwards port might pave the way for other titles to become available on older consoles. If not, maybe this is a move parallel to the release of the next Nintendo console, which might come out either early next year or during the holiday season, depending on who you ask. Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, previously claimed that the incoming Nintendo platform will boast similar performance to the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
This unexpected venture into the last-gen territory comes on the heels of EA’s impressive Q1 2024 fiscal year performance. Analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion were surpassed by the actual $1.92 billion revenue reported, beating the previous fiscal year’s first-quarter revenue of $1.77 billion.
Fueling the financial success was the contribution from the initial launch of Jedi: Survivor, despite a rocky start characterized by performance issues on some PCs. The record-breaking Q1 performance was attributed to the “strong momentum in EA Sports global football and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor,” as shared by EA CEO, Andrew Wilson.
Despite the challenge of performance issues, Jedi: Survivor made a remarkable impression. This commercial success, along with “millions” of players and a record net booking of $1.578 billion, demonstrated EA’s optimism about the game’s future.
Yet, it’s worth noting that the decision to port the game back to older consoles doesn’t seem like a savvy move. Given the game’s persistent performance issues on current-gen platforms, the thought of porting it to machines developed in 2013 is a concern. It appears like an unnecessary hurdle in an era where game developers and publishers are intentionally leaving the Xbox One and PS4 behind.
Nevertheless, Respawn Entertainment is committed to optimizing Jedi: Survivor on all platforms as they continue to work on additional Star Wars titles and maintaining their popular battle royale game, Apex Legends.
Only time will tell if this foray into last-gen consoles is a brilliant strategic move or create a disturbance in the force.
