Fans of a galaxy far, far away are finally getting the games they’ve always wanted. After the less-than-ideal handling of the Star Wars franchise by EA up until the two Star Wars Jedi games, fans have been eager to explore new stories in this vast universe, as well as lore that isn’t addressed in the films.
The first to take a crack at it in a big-budget title is going to be Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment with the new Star Wars Outlaws. This franchise has a huge history, tons of lore, and devoted fans picking apart every detail. If you want to know where this new adventure is going to take you, turn off your targeting computer, trust in the Force, and check out everything we know so far about Star Wars Outlaws.
Release date
Star Wars Outlaws will arrive on August 30, 2024.
Platforms
Star Wars Outlaws will be arriving on all major current-gen systems. This includes the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Trailers
We were lucky enough to get two trailers for Star Wars Outlaws in quick succession in the summer of 2023. The first was the World Premiere Trailer from the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2023.
This trailer immediately establishes that Star Wars Outlaws will take place during the events of the original trilogy — specifically between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. However, this game will not focus on that conflict, but rather on the criminal underworlds of the Outer Rim. We’re introduced to our protagonist, Kay Vess, who is described as “an emerging scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life.” She will be joined by her small alien companion, Nix.
The trailer shows her being confronted in a bar by some thugs while playing cards, prompting an explosive escape. After a few more cuts, she meets a man named Jaylen on her ship, who offers her some sort of deal. She will be roped into pulling off the biggest heist she’s ever taken on to hopefully escape her life as an outlaw once and for all.
On April 9, 2024, Ubisoft released the story trailer for Star Wars Outlaws. This trailer sets up the setting for the game as one where the Empire is so busy contending with the Rebels that all the outlaws and criminal organizations are more or less free to operate as they please. Kay has apparently crossed one of the most dangerous crime bosses and has a bounty on her head. The only way out is to rob that same crime boss and buy her freedom back with the loot. However, a bounty hunter will be hot on her trail the entire time while Kay attempts to put a crew together to pull off this heist.
Before it would show up again at the Ubisoft Forward, Star Wars Outlaws made a quick appearance at Summer Game Fest 2024. Among the first few clips, a notable character from the original trilogy shows up. Sitting at a card table is none other than Lando Calrissian, the administrator of Cloud City and original owner of the Millenium Falcon. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but perhaps you can interact with him more in the full game.
Other details from the developers that Game Informer shared included the team’s desire to create the “ultimate scoundrel fantasy.” Doing jobs for various factions is never a straightforward task since everything you do (or perhaps don’t do) will impact Kay’s reputation. Cantinas on each planet serve as hubs for gathering information and finding jobs.
Some of the main syndicates you will encounter include the Hutt Cartel, the Crimson Dawn, the Ashiga Clan, and the Pyke Syndicate, who each have their own leader. The better your reputation with each specific cartel, the more perks you get with them, such as being allowed to explore their hideouts and gain access to new items to purchase. Having a poor reputation with a group will bar you from entering their territory normally, though you can still sneak or fight your way in.
Gameplay
A few days after the reveal, we got the first Gameplay Walkthrough for Star Wars Outlaws at Ubisoft Forward.
We already knew this would be an open-world Star Wars game, but this trailer opens in a more constrained location and shows off that there will be stealth elements, including a stealth takedown and having Nix distract guards.
When combat does kick off, Kay’s primary weapon will be her trusty blaster, which operates on a heat system rather than ammo. We see that when confronted with a shielded enemy, she will have multiple modes for her blaster. The three we saw were Blaster, Focused, and Stun. By swapping to Focused, she could disrupt the shield and perform a melee attack. Nix can also help in a fight by retrieving weapons from fallen enemies.
Kay’s health is broken up into segments that, so long as one isn’t fully drained, will regenerate over time when not damaged.
To help explore the massive open world, Kay will also have her own Speeder. This has its own recharging boost meter and can be used in combat. Kay activates a bullet-time or Dead-Eye-like mode where time slows to a crawl, and she targets pursuing enemies before automatically blasting them.
While boarding her ship, we get a glimpse of a prompt to use a workbench, suggesting the ability to upgrade weapons and gear. Most surprising was that, after taking off, you will be able to fully pilot the Trailblazer and engage in dogfights with other ships. You will also be able to fly from the surface directly into space and use Hyperdrive to jump to new locations. We will have to wait to learn just how many planets we will get to explore.
Kay keeps a dataspike in her hair to whip out and use as a lock pick to bypass locked doors. Lock-picking is done by completing a rhythm-based minigame.
Nix, Kay’s little alien animal buddy, can do various things to help in and out of combat. It can distract enemies, steal items, and collect things out of reach when highlighted with a blue icon.
The Official Gameplay Showcase took us through a full mission where we hunted down an Expert who will be able to teach Kay new abilities.
On the way through space, a distress call is picked up as an optional side objective you can choose to take on for some extra credits. While in ship combat, you have some quick-turn maneuver options, manual blasters, homing missiles, and a turret that automatically targets hostile ships. However, if you destroy ships belonging to a certain syndicate, you could harm your reputation with them.
On foot, Nix can temporarily leap on enemies to allow Kay time to approach to do a takedown. It can also send out a pulse to detect enemies through walls within a certain range. When things get hot, ammo type will matter. Normal blasts don’t do much against bots, but a single electric shock can cause them to explode.
Preorder
Preorders are now up for Star Wars Outlaws if you’ve got the credits. There are Standard, Gold, and Ultimate editions to choose from, so let’s run through each of them.
Standard Edition – $70
- Base game
- The Kessel Runner Bonus Pack (Cosmetics for your speeder and Trailblazer spaceship)
Gold Edition – $110
- Everything in the Standard Edition
- 3 days early access
- Season pass for two DLCs, plus the Jabba’s Gambit exclusive mission available at launch and Kessel Runner Character Pack with cosmetics for Kay and Nix
Ultimate Edition – $130
- Everything from the Gold Edition
- Rogue Infiltrator Bundle (Cosmetics for Kay, Nix, the speeder, and Trailblazer)
- Sabacc Shark Bundle (Cosmetics for Kay, Nix, the speeder, and Trailblazer
- Digital Art Book
