- "We know that fans of Star Wars value the feeling of immersion — of being transported into the Star Wars galaxy and moving through richly-detailed environments. It's fun to imagine what the team at Massive can do within Star Wars by bringing their innovative spirit and their commitment to quality."
- ―Douglas Reilly, VP of Lucasfilm Games
Star Wars Outlaws is an open world video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. The game is story-driven, features an open world, and utilizes Massive Entertainment's proprietary Snowdrop game engine. Outlaws centers on Kay Vess, a slicer and thief from Canto Bight who crosses the Zerek Besh crime syndicate, leading her to crash land on the moon Toshara and become entangled in the criminal underworld's ongoing Syndicate War. The outlaw Jaylen Vrax and his BX-series droid commando ND-5 recruit Vess to build a crew to reattempt a heist against Zerek Besh's leader Sliro Ruback, and so Vess travels with her merqaal companion Nix and ND-5 to the planets Akiva, Tatooine and Kijimi in order to find the right crew.
Gameplay[]
Outlaws has a faction reputation system, which shapes the world in small ways based on dialogue choices and other decisions like choosing a subtle or aggressive approach in specific missions. Kay Vess's actions will dictate how individuals/factions react to her.[12] The dialogue is branching.[13] However, there are not branching narrative threads.[12]
The game can broadly be divided into three types of settings: cities, large open-world areas, and space. Vess can travel the galaxy at will, and take part in various side quests. Vess will have a different standing with each criminal leader based on the player's actions.[14] Every planet and moon has explorable space around them, which the player can explore using the Trailblazer, exploring points of interest. Upon reaching the edge of the area, the Trailblazer can use its hyperdrive to leave the area.[15]
Sabacc can be played within the game.[5]
Development[]
Narratively, the starting point for Outlaws was to have the game have the POV of a scoundrel. Afterwards, the game was pitched to Lucasfilm Games, and it was settled that the game would take place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The story started to crystalize around the idea of having a character and story that wasn't part of the Galactic Civil War.[16] During development, Massive Entertainment worked closely with Lucasfilm Games, and developers have stated in interviews that the game is now considered canon.
The game "went gold"—marking the end of its pre-release active production period—in July 2024.[17]
The game features a Standard Edition, Gold Edition, and Ultimate Edition. The Gold Edition features early access to the game, and a season pass featuring cosmetics, two DLC expansions, and a "Jabba's Gambit" mission. The Ultimate Edition features this, additional cosmetics, and a digital art book. More cosmetic packs are a pre-order bonus. The Ultimate Edition is available for Ubisoft+ subscribers.[18]Outlaws is set to receive two post-launch story packs and cosmetic bundles for the season pass. The first expansion, Wild Card, will be released in fall 2024, and the second expansion, A Pirate's Fortune, will be released in spring 2025.[6]
Continuity[]
Star Wars Outlaws features extensive references to other Star Wars media, ranging from canon novels such as Aftermath and the movies of the sequel trilogy, to area names only used in early West End Games products and other obscure sources from the Legends continuity. Outlaws is set concurrent to the Star Wars: Crimson Reign comic miniseries, and as such features a number of characters and elements from the comics and novels relating to Crimson Dawn.
However, it does conflict with some details:
- Temmin Wexley's droid, Mister Bones, is absent from the game, and a conversation between Temmin and Kay implies that Kay inspires him to build Bones for security. However, the novel Aftermath establishes that Temmin made Bones the year his mother, Norra Wexley, left and joined the Rebellion. "The Buy-In," which takes place the day before the Battle of Endor, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 4 ABY, states that Norra joined the Alliance three years before, placing both Norra joining the Rebels and Bones' creation in 1 ABY.
- Aftermath, which is set in 4 ABY not long after the events of the game, also states that Temmin's aunt Esmelle lived in Myrra with her wife Shirene; however, Outlaws depicts them as living in the village of Sashin instead.
- Sliro Barsha is shown in Crimson Reign 5 to inform the Emperor on Coruscant of Qi'ra's leadership of Crimson Dawn and Crimson Dawn's role in starting the Syndicate War, which prompts the Empire to immediately begin hunting down Crimson Dawn agents throughout the galaxy. However, Outlaws, which depicts Barsha's death, shows the Dawn operating openly on multiple worlds, thus conflicting with Crimson Reign 5 unless Barsha's appearance on Coruscant is followed immediately by Kay Vess's raid on the ISB station at Dorsha Six, where Vader orders Barsha to hunt down the rebels, and by the second heist and Barsha's death aboard the Revelator.
- Asara Deyn's ISB Report collectible states that his sister Calys was killed at the "Battle of Trevini", but his in-game dialogue says she died at the Battle of Scarif instead.
Media[]
Main poster
Main poster art
Key art
Poster featuring the four syndicates (portrait)
Poster featuring the four syndicates (landscape)
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Appearances[]
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