“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” With these blue-on-black words in an opening crawl, we witnessed a saga yet so familiar but engulfed many generations in its epic journey. Beyond the silver screen, the Star Wars franchise held up a concrete ground on video gaming with its ebbs and flows through time. Today, we will discuss the latest addition to the franchise — Star Wars Outlaws.
Star Wars Outlaws is being developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft, the first story-driven open-world Star Wars video game to be released soon. We harnessed what we know about this game from openly shared sources and presented it to you to catch the moment.
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History of Star Wars Games
From the golden age of LucasArts, which had become ancient now, to the handling of Star Wars IP of EA, we also had enough share of Star Wars adventures in the gaming industry. After the recent developments, the Star Wars franchise moved to other high-profile developers and publishers under the name of Lucasfilm Games.
Even though the last two games (Star Wars Jedi) from EA, which starred by new character Cal Kestis, gave some hope about gaming in recent times, Quantic Dream’s Eclipse and Ubisoft’s Outlaws are the most eagerly anticipated Star Wars games of this new era.
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Release Date and Platforms
The much-anticipated Star Wars Outlaws has yet to set a definite release date. However, Ubisoft gave us a glimmer of hope during the Xbox Games Showcase, hinting at a 2024 release. We’re crossing our fingers for a more definitive timeline in the upcoming months.
Star Wars Outlaws is a next-generation title designed exclusively for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The game clips unveiled so far certainly attest to this, making it clear that it’s leaving the previous generation in its stardust.
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Trailers
At the announcement in Xbox Games Showcase, the world premiere trailer of Star Wars Outlaws drew the attention of all Star Wars fans. The trailer introduces us to the main character of the game, Kay Vess, portrayed by Humberly González.
She is a young human female, a risk-taker scoundrel seeking freedom across the stars. Accompanied by her cute companion Nix, this trailer showed many promising goosebumps moments for hard fans.
After the world premiere trailer, which was a great cinematic experience and intro towards the game, it didn’t end there. At the event of Ubisoft Forward, a total of 10 minutes, the official gameplay walkthrough trailer had released, and we witnessed a smooth transition from in-game cinematics to in-game action graphics. This trailer, accessed below, gave us much information about this upcoming Star Wars game.
Again in the Ubisoft Forward event, held on June 12th, we met the promising actress Humberly González, who portrayed the main protagonist, Kay Vess, in Star Wars Outlaws. Venezuelan-born Canadian actress known for guest and leading roles in numerous series and films.
Also, voiceover works and full body motion capture for video games such as Starlink and Far Cry 6, which is a flag carrier franchise of Ubisoft. So we could connect the dots why she was chosen for Star Wars Outlaws. The trailer below is where we meet beautiful Humberly González and her excellent work in Star Wars Outlaws.
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Story
What we know so far, according to the given information, is that the game sets its timeline between 3 ABY and 4 ABY. That means Star Wars Outlaws’ events approximately happened between Episode 5: Empire Strikes Back and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi.
Kay Vess is a young human scoundrel who fought hard to make a life for herself and survived through the galaxy during the Imperial Era. She had been working with and against many scum and villain factions as an Outlaw that title suggested.
In the gameplay trailer, we witnessed stealth action against the Pyke faction that we saw first in live-action in Solo movie, which starred the young Han Solo, a famous scoundrel and rebel character on the silver screen.
Accompanied by Nix, which is a cute Merqaal side-kick helped her adventures and heists to get a clean sheet for her life in the future of the galaxy with her ship, the Trailblazer.
Against the iron grasp of the Imperial Era, Kay Vess’s story seemed to be involved in the “Outer Rim Territories”, of the galaxy, including many infamous factions which dwell there.
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Gameplay
In the first open-world Star Wars game, the trailer hinted at stealth and combat mechanics. It displayed stealth takedowns and clever distractions using Nix. Though set in an enclosed space, the trailer gives a peek into the full game.
Kay, our protagonist, wields a versatile blaster. Without ammo reloads this weapon relies on a heat system and boasts various modes. These include the rapid-fire Blaster, the enemy-disrupting Focused, and the familiar Stun setting.
Kay’s health bar features regenerating segments. As the story unfolds, players can likely increase health bar segments. Also, crafting is crucial in open-world games. In Kay’s ship, a workbench prompt suggests weapon and gear upgrades, ability and cosmetic improvements.
For galaxy exploration, Kay pilots the Trailblazer, offering engaging ship combat. Additionally, her Speeder enables planet exploration, also featuring its combat mechanics. This well-rounded adventure holds promise for Star Wars fans.
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Development
Star Wars Outlaws will utilise Massive Entertainment’s flagbearer game engine Snowdrop. Snowdrop game engine offers many features, such as a node-based scripting system that connects all areas, a natural day-night cycle, global volumetric lighting, procedural destruction, an advanced particle system, visual effects, and more. Snowdrop engine was used first in Tom Clancy’s The Division game and supported by many gaming platforms.
Graphics are aesthetically beautiful in Star Wars Outlaws, and the atmosphere of the game gives the feeling of a Star Wars theme, even in those short trailers.
Game director Mathias Carlson and creative director Julian Gerightly lead the game’s development. Game’s Story is commended for leading writer Nikki Foy and narrative director Navid Khavari.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Star Wars Outlaws Free?
No — Star Wars Outlaws will be sold at full price as a AAA game. We know that Ubisoft has moved to $70 pricing on other games. For this reason, we anticipate that SWO will go on sale at the lowest price at this price. Of course, we also think that higher-priced editions such as the Deluxe Edition and Collector’s Edition will be announced.
What Can You Do in Star Wars Outlaws?
Star Wars Outlaws is a third-person action adventure game. As the franchise’s first open-world game, it will feature dialogue options, ground and space battles, high-action open battles, stealth elements, and more.
Will Star Wars Outlaws Be Multiplayer?
No — Star Wars Outlaws will be a purely single-player action-adventure game. Developed for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, the game will not include co-op or multiplayer modes. Get ready for a breathtaking single-player Star Wars adventure.
Author Profile
- My journey into the world of video games began at four, when I was first introduced to arcade machines in 1996. Over the past decades, I've been fortunate enough to witness the incredible evolution of gaming, as it has grown from a niche hobby to a thriving art. Today, I'm dedicated to creating content that celebrates all genres of games. We will talk about them at Player.me.
