If you were worried that Star Wars Outlaws was going to end up being an infinite Ubisoft timesink ala Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, the developers at Massive Entertainment want to put you at ease, noting that the experience will be «very manageable».
24.07.2023 - 15:05 / gameranx.com / Julian Gerighty / Kay Vess / Will
There is no shortage of thrilling Star Wars games to enjoy. We recently had the launch of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and now we know next year, we’ll get our hands on Star Wars Outlaws. The video game had a bit of a showcase this past month, thanks to both the Xbox Games Showcase and Ubisoft Forward events. However, while we haven’t seen any new footage yet on the video game project, new details did emerge from the development team. This past weekend we had the SDCC, and thanks to an IGN report, we’re finding out that we can expect at least one familiar criminal overlord to show up.
IGN had the chance to speak with the director of Star Wars Outlaws, Julian Gerighty. During their conversation, the topic of Jabba the Hutt came up. We all know this iconic character from the original Star Wars trilogy. This evil gangster has quite the reach in the criminal underground along with ties to politics, making him quite the force to deal with. Details are scarce, but according to the IGN report, we’ll deal with Jabba the Hutt somehow, which could even mean betraying him. Just how that might work out for our protagonist Kay Vess will be a mystery for now.
If you don’t recall, Star Wars Outlaws does take place during the original trilogy of Star Wars films. Specifically, we’re set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. So while we will apparently get to visit some familiar places in the franchise, it looks like the developers from Massive Entertainment were encouraged to make something new from Lucasfilm Games. That’s where they came up with Toshara, a new area for players to explore that takes inspiration from a real-life location.
The developers gained inspiration from eastern African Savannah as the team visited Tanzania to capture the area for their game. But Lucasfilm has a rule of 80/20 for designing locations. Essentially, 80% of the world should look familiar to viewers while 20% should remain as something more alien to us. As a result, the game’s visuals shouldn’t feel too out of the ordinary but enough to still hold true with other previous works from the Star Wars franchise.
Star Wars Outlaws is set to launch at some point in 2024. Players will take the role of Key Vess, an outlaw scoundrel who is attempting the biggest heist the Outer Rim has ever seen. You’ll find this game available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms when it releases.
If you were worried that Star Wars Outlaws was going to end up being an infinite Ubisoft timesink ala Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, the developers at Massive Entertainment want to put you at ease, noting that the experience will be «very manageable».
Ubisoft knows its way around compelling open worlds, but Star Wars Outlaws is shaping up to be one of its biggest and most densely detailed yet. As previously announced, each planet in the release will be fully explorable, with enough open space to give you a meaningful sense of adventure. And the French publisher is handcrafting every one: there’s no procedural generation.
Ever wondered what kind of nightmarish, extraterrestrial smoothy you could whip up with the disgusting liquids that barbarian Luke Skywalker was always chugging down? It might not actually taste that bad; as dedicated fans well know, George Lucas had a bad habit of making things sound worse than they actually are (see "Jizz" as an example of this, the specific kind of space-jazz employed by the Max Rebo band).
In a recent interview, developers at Massive outlined the size and scope of Star Wars Outlaws stating that the title is «not a 200 or 300-hour epic unfinishable RPG.»
While Ubisoft’s last few releases have been more miss than hit, the future is slightly better, thanks to titles like Star Wars Outlaws. Developed by Ubisoft Massive of The Division fame, it’s an open-world third-person shooter starring Kay Vess, who pursues the scoundrel lifestyle across numerous planets.
If you’re a fan of the Star Wars franchise, then you might understand that there is a dark underbelly in the galaxy. Most might instantly think of the Jedi and Sith as being the focal point. But those that are not Force-sensitive have other areas to worry about. We know that there are a few criminal syndicates that thrive in this galaxy, with the Hutt Clan being one of the more notoriously known. However, if you dig deeper into the franchise, you might come across other notable crime syndicates citizens are fighting back against or aligning with. You’ll find that these criminal syndicates will play a big role in Star Wars Outlaws.
Coming up with a Star Wars game is harder than you might imagine. There’s a lot to be mindful of regarding keeping things canon. You certainly don’t want to write against what a movie, film, novel, or comic book has already established. So we imagine the efforts to deliver the Star Wars Outlaws game were challenging and rewarding for the team. Fortunately, we can go into this game knowing that the developers took quite a bit of time ensuring that it remains authentic to the franchise.
One of the reasons that Star Wars Outlaws intrigued gamers from the moment it was revealed was that, on the surface, it looked like no other game set in the galaxy far, far away that we had seen before. Primarily, games from this galaxy focus on the Jedi/Sith or are based on the movies that have come out. Oh, or are LEGO versions of those films. Just saying. This game from Ubisoft is in a much different position because it focuses on the smuggler Kay Vess, who is trying to obtain her freedom and start a new life for herself.
Star Wars Outlaws creative director Julian Gerighty says the upcoming open-world game won't follow in the footsteps of modern Assassin's Creed titles as a "200 or 300-hour epic unfinishable RPG."
Since the last three Assassin's Creed games are gigantic RPGs with equally as expansive maps, there's understandable anxiety when Ubisoft announces a new RPG--will it be an unfathomable time sink of hundreds of hours? With Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft says no.
Ubisoft has addressed some worries about Star Wars Outlaws’ playtime.
Star Wars Outlaws creative director Julian Gerighty and narrative director Navid Khavari have revealed that the game won’t be a 200-300 hour game. Speaking with IGN during San Diego Comic-Con, the duo spoke about what it means for a game to be “too big”.