Star Wars Outlaws is the first-ever open-world adventure game set in the long-running and ever-popular Star Wars universe. There’s no lightsabers here though, with players instead taking control of the story of smuggler Kay Vess.
Massive, who made the multiplayer live-service The Division series, are jumping headfirst into a huge single-player adventure. While many thought Outlaws might go the multiplayer route given Massive’s background, the Swedish devs are looking to continue the single-player Star Wars momentum generated by Respawn’s Jedi series.
Looking to head back to the galaxy far, far away? Here’s absolutely everything we know so far about Star Wars Outlaws right now.
Star Wars Outlaws: All details we know so far
- When does Star Wars Outlaws release?
- Release platforms
- Characters and story
- Gameplay
- All planet details
- Planned post-launch content
When does Star Wars Outlaws release?
Star Wars Outlaws officially releases on Aug. 30, 2024. Players can get up to three days early access by pre-ordering the Gold or Ultimate Edition, and Ubisoft+ Premium subscribers can start playing the game‘s Ultimate Edition on Aug. 26.
All Star Wars Outlaws platforms
It’s all modern consoles for Star Wars Outlaws: The open-world Ubisoft action game will be shipping on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC.
Star Wars Outlaws characters and story
Kay Vess is the protagonist. She’s a thief and a scoundrel portrayed by Humberly González, who unexpectedly becomes one of the galaxy’s most wanted criminals. Kay draws the ire of elite crime lord Sliro, who places a massive bounty on Kay after a failed job.
To achieve freedom from this bounty, Kay will need to “pull off one of the greatest heists the galaxy has ever seen.” Doing so will require good standing and reputation with several iconic Star Wars crime syndicates like the Pykes and the Hutt Cartel, as well as a plethora of funds. Her companions include Nix, a cute but also very useful rare Merqaal, and a droid companion by the name of ND-5, a reprogrammed BX-series droid commando. Kay will need to assemble a crew of other companions to pull off the heist.
The story takes place in the heat of the civil war between the Empire and the Rebellion, canonically between The Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars Outlaws gameplay
Outlaws is a third-person action-adventure title featuring ranged combat, stealth, thrilling Star Wars action set pieces, spaceship travel and combat, and more.
In the extended look at gameplay from the Ubisoft Forward event in June, we saw Kay sneak through a restricted area under the control of the Pykes, one of the many syndicates. After she’s discovered, the encounter shifts from stealth gameplay to an exciting cover-based third-person shootout, before turning into a speeder-bike chase scene.
During the gameplay, we see the ways Nix helps Kay. During stealth, players can choose between using Nix to attack enemies, distract them, or interact with objects. During combat, Nix can also be sent to retrieve health packs and weapons.
On a larger scale, Kay will have to manage her reputation with various factions and make crucial decisions. After the shootout and the speeder chase are resolved, Kay’s reputation with the Pykes decreases drastically. Later, Kay meets a broker but also has an encounter with an Imperial officer. The player chooses not to bribe the officer, and while it appears Kay completes the mission with more money, the officer calls for Kay to be arrested, leading to Kay getting an Empire wanted level and forcing her to escape the planet.
How Kay interacts with these various factions will influence the world around her, impacting the kinds of jobs she can take, how she interacts with vendors and the quest givers, and how welcome she is in certain areas.
All planet details for Star Wars Outlaws
The story of Star Wars Outlaws takes place in the galaxy’s Outer Rim, where smugglers, scoundrels, and crime lords are an even bigger threat than the Empire.
There will be at least four planets in the game, according to creative director Julian Gerighty in an interview by EDGE magazine, with a possibility of five. Gerighty confirmed one of the game’s explorable locations is the icy planet Kijimi, which first appeared in The Rise of Skywalker. Players should expect each Outlaws planet to be different in terms of aesthetics, Imperial presence, population density, and local settlements.
Gerighty compared the explorable size of each Outlaws planet to “two to three zones in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.” During his interview with EDGE, Gerighty “repeatedly” emphasized that all explorable locations were handcrafted.
Planned Star Wars Outlaws post-launch content
There are already two DLC packages confirmed for Star Wars Outlaws after launch, including Wild Card (coming in Fall 2024) and A Pirate’s Fortune (Spring 2025).
The first of these two releases will see Kay “cross paths with the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian” and will include Hunter’s Legacy and Cartel Ronin bundles, more outfits for Kay and Nix, and cosmetics for Kay’s speeder and ship.
The second DLC will then see Kay confront a Clone Wars fan favorite, Hondo Ohnaka. He’s looking to “settle old scores with a ruthless gang of pirates”—which sounds like a lot of the adventures he got up to in the Star Wars animated series he’s appeared in already. This expansion will also add more ship cosmetics and bundles.
Published: Aug 13, 2024 08:26 pm