It’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan. We're getting loads of new shows and even movies exploring lesser known corners of the galaxy far, far away. Meanwhile, Lucasfilm has extended the development of Star Wars video games to more big-name publishers than just EA. Up next is Ubisoft Massive’s Star Wars Outlaws, a first foray into open-world action games for the franchise.
Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, this ambitious title follows the adventures of Kay Vess, a Han Solo-esque scoundrel who is assembling a team for an interstellar heist in order to pay off her debts to a sinister crime syndicate Hopefully things go better for her than they did for Solo, or she might end up doing a stint as a carbonite door stop too.
This new open-world adventure isn’t the only big-budget Star Wars game currently in development, as Disney aims to release at least one major title (alongside smaller ones) every year moving forward. At EA, Respawn Entertainment is staying in the Star Wars business with a sequel to Jedi: Survivor, and a strategy game co-developed by XCOM and Civilization veterans.
We can also look forward to Skydance Media’s mystery action-adventure project, Saber Interactive’s Knights of the Old Republic remake, and Quantic Dream’s ambitious Star Wars Eclipse, among others.
But Master Yoda wouldn’t want us to focus on the horizon — we need our mind on where we are, and what are doing, and we’re talking about all things Star Wars Outlaws. Here’s everything we know about this upcoming sci-fi adventure.
Star Wars Outlaws release date
After rumors of a potential delay to 2025, Ubisoft have confirmed that Star Wars Outlaws is set to launch on August 30, 2024.
It's already possible to pre-order Star Wars Outlaws, and those with Ubisoft+ Premium or gamers opting to splash out on the Gold Edition or the Ultimate Edition of the game can play up to 3 days early.
Star Wars Outlaws platforms
Star Wars Outlaws, much like Massive Entertainment's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, is a current-gen exclusive that aims to squeeze as much as possible out of the studio's own Snowdrop engine. As a result, it's launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Windows).
Star Wars Outlaws trailers
Our initial look at the game came with an exciting CG trailer released on June 11, 2023. Watch it below:
The following day, June 12, 2023, we learned much more about the game and its main character thanks to a generous gameplay walkthrough that debuted during the Ubisoft Forward 2023 event. Check it out here:
Marketing started to ramp up on April 9, 2024, with a story trailer that gave us the first proper look at the main plot and all the major crime syndicates involved in it. You can watch it here:
During Ubisoft Forward 2024, a second gameplay showcase introduced ‘experts’ that teach Kay valuable skills and took us to the sands of Tatooine. Watch it in full here:
As we approach the launch date, we’re starting to know more and more of the behind-the-scenes process of nailing the look and feel of the Star Wars underworld during the late Reign of the Empire (see our Star Wars timeline to see exactly where this game slots into the established canon). If you’re interested in learn about the intricacies of the crime syndicates featured in the game, don’t miss this one out:
Star Wars Outlaws plot & setting
Star Wars Outlaws is set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which means this is yet another Star Wars game which takes place during the Galactic Civil War, but thankfully, we'll be deeper into the era this time around.
The Empire is still strong during this period of time, but the Rebel Alliance is putting some serious pressure on Emperor Palpatine's reign of evil. Meanwhile, the criminal syndicates are trying to make as much money as possible from the galaxy-wide chaos and rampant inequality. This is where Kay Vess (Humberly Gonzalez) comes in. She's a scoundrel "seeking freedom and the means to start a new life" along her companion Nix and the reprogrammed commando droid ND-5.
As teased in the gameplay demos and trailers we have shared above, Star Wars Outlaws features a number of criminal groups and other factions which long-time Star Wars fans are familiar with, including the dangerous Pyke Syndicate, Crimson Dawn, and other shady alien brokers. Likewise, the story will be taking Kay to renowned planets such as Tatooine, Cantonica, and Kijimi, plus all-new on-screen worlds like Akiva (featured in the Star Wars: Aftermath book trilogy) and Toshara.
Star Wars Outlaws genre & gameplay
While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor had some pretty impressive large areas that could be explored freely, Star Wars Outlaws is the first game of the franchise fully designed to replicate the modern open-world experience. Thanks to its current-gen nature (and the mighty power of SSDs), players will even be able to transition seamlessly from on-the-ground locations to outer space, where tense dogfights might happen from time to time.
Star Wars Outlaws largely plays like a traditional third-person action-adventure game, though you can see the influence of Massive's past projects, such as a strong focus on cover-based gunfights and gadgets. Of course, stealth is also important for a scoundrel like Kay, and cute little Nix can help her in such situations.
Another important element which seems unique to Star Wars Outlaws versus other major open-world releases from Ubisoft studios is that new skills and passives aren’t tied to the traditional skill trees we’ve learned to love and hate over the years. Instead, Kay must visit and gain the trust of ‘experts’ that will teach her skills depending on their profession. This is yet another push to encourage natural interactions with the game world versus more ‘game-ified’ systems that are maybe overdone at this point.
The planetary locations we'll be visiting are going to be chock-full of extra gigs and heavily guarded locations to steal from. According to the devs, the average time to travel across the average planetary map on speeder will be five minutes non-stop, which may not sound like a lot, but actually means each world’s playable area is quite sizable. Judging from the trailers and gameplay demos alone, the studio appears to have nailed the playfulness of the Star Wars setting, and we can't wait to meet more colorful characters and see how the galaxy reacts to Kay's antics.
If you're looking for good sci-fi video games to play until Star Wars Outlaws is ready to go, our rankings of the finest Alien, Marvel, DC, Warhammer 40K, and, of course, Star Wars games out there will give you more than you asked for.
Looking for more general picks? We recommend taking a look at the best space exploration, space settlement, and space horror titles available right now.
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