Star Wars Outlaws release date, story, gameplay, and more
Here's everything we know about this open world Star Wars adventure
Want to know more about Star Wars Outlaws, the first open world Star Wars game? A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, many people dreamed about one day playing an open world video game set in George Lucas' world of space wizards. Ubisoft and developer Massive Entertainment are finally making this dream a reality with Star Wars Outlaws, though they're leaving the wizards out, since the upcoming game puts players in the role of a lovable Han Solo-style rogue rather than a Jedi.
Concrete info on this expansive jaunt through the galaxy remains limited, but we've gathered all we know thus far about Star Wars Outlaws below, from the expected release date to the setting to gameplay details.
In this guide:
- Star Wars Outlaws expected release date
- Star Wars Outlaws platforms
- Star Wars Outlaws trailers
- Star Wars Outlaws story details and setting
- Star Wars Outlaws gameplay
Star Wars Outlaws expected release date
Star Wars Outlaws is expected to release sometime in 2024. An exact month has yet to be revealed, but a Disney Parks blog post from early January revealed that the game was scheduled to come out in "late 2024". This post was later edited to remove the word "late." Chances are, Star Wars Outlaws may serve as Ubisoft's big game to close off the year.
Star Wars Outlaws platforms
Star Wars Outlaws will launch on Windows, but don't except to see it on Steam or even the Epic Games store. It'll be available on Ubisoft Connect. On consoles, Star Wars Outlaws will launch for the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Star Wars Outlaws trailers
Star Wars Outlaws was revealed to the world in June 2023 with a cinematic premiere trailer that introduced viewers to Kay Vess, the daring lady at the heart of the game.
A ten and a half minute gameplay trailer accompanied the cinematic reveal, showing off Kay Vess as she carries out a sneaky deal for a nefarious employer, engaged in blaster combat, and hops on both a speeder bike and her own ship, the Trailblazer, for quick getaways.
A behind-the-scenes development video entitled "Crafting a Galaxy of Opportunity," was released in July. This video provided further insight into Star Wars Outlaws' design and also featured interviews with Massive Entertainment's developers.
Star Wars Outlaws story details and setting
Star Wars Outlaws takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, putting it smack dab in the middle of the franchise's Imperial Era. The Empire's forces are primed and ready for attack against all rebel forces, and Kay Vess is just one woman in this harsh galaxy trying to survive by making some money.
Portrayed by actress Humberly González, Kay radiates charm reminiscent of Han Solo or Lando Calrissian, and she's described on the Star Wars Outlaws website as "a scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life." Kay is accompanied on her journey by fuzzy companion Nix, who is a merqaal - a creature species new to the Star Wars franchise. Nix, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, resembles a ferret with big ears and huge eyes, and looks to be a worthy ally when it comes to grabbing items or distracting enemies during smugging operations.
Aside from Kay and Nix, another key character in Star Wars Outlaws is ND-5, a trenchcoat-wearing BX-series droid, which means that he was built during Star Wars' Clone Wars. Portrayed by Jay Rincon, the dashing droid features prominently alongside Kay in the game's key art, teasing his likely role as a sidekick throughout her adventures.
The exact details of Star Wars Outlaws' plot remain under wraps, but Kay's journey is expected to feature prominent Star Wars planets like Tatooine and Kijimi along with a new one created entirely for the game - the moon of Toshara.
In "Crafting a Galaxy of Opportunity," Massive Entertainment devs spoke on how they drew inspiration from the Tanzania savannah while crafting Toshara, which is the setting of the gameplay footage released alongside Star Wars Outlaw's reveal. Thus far, Toshara seems to be a Wild West-style landscape where speeder battles amongst the rocks and desert greenery are common. Toshara is also home to many criminal syndicates, as seen when Kay visits her contact at an outpost town named Jaunta's Hope.
Star Wars: Outlaws gameplay
Star Wars Outlaws looks to feature a varied number of play styles, all of which were glimpsed at in the gameplay reveal trailer. If you've played any of Ubisoft's other open world games, you may have some idea of what to expect.
Stealth missions: Star Wars Outlaws' gameplay reveal opens with Kay on Toshara attempting to pilfer goods from the deadly Pyke Syndicate, a group of spice traffickers who have regularly appeared in other Star Wars media. The mission begins with Kay sneaking behind enemies and using takedowns to knock them unconscious. Nix also comes in handy and can be sent ahead to press switches, attack, or distract foes while Kay lurks in cover.
Blaster shootouts: After the mission goes haywire, Kay is forced to bring out her blaster and start, well, blasting. Gunplay in Star Wars Outlaws is your standard over-the-shoulder affair, with Kay able to hop for cover, switch blasters, and change modes on her firearms. Notably, one of her guns has a Focused mode that she uses in the trailer to pierce through an enemy's shield.
Open world speeder traversal: When Kay escapes from the Pyke Syndicate hideout and mounts on a speeder in the gameplay trailer, the entire moon of Toshara is her oyster. After two assailants get on her tail, Kay dispatches them with a few well-placed shots, hinting that speeder shootouts are going to be a major part of moving across the wide worlds of Star Wars Outlaws.
Reputation: Some manner of reputation system with different factions appears to be included in Star Wars Outlaws, judging by Kay and ND-5's dialogue as they muse that they won't be doing any more missions for the Pykes. Kay also interacts with an agent of the Empire in Jaunta's Hope, who expects her to pay a bribe. When Kay refuses, Imperial forces go after her immediately.
Space combat: Like any good Star Wars game, a solid dose of space combat occurs when Kay takes to the Trailblazer, blasts off from Toshara, and exchanges fire with TIE-Fighters. The ability to jump into hyperdrive is also exhibited at the very end of the trailer.
That's all we know so far about Star Wars Outlaws. For more on this exciting excusion into the smuggler side of the Star Wars universe, keep your eyes peeled on Rock Paper Shotgun as we proceed to bring you all the coverage you need on Kay's upcoming escapades.