Star Wars Outlaws’ first gameplay shows an open-world Star Wars scoundrel fantasy

Star Wars Outlaws is more than just a pretty trailer and the promise of the first open-world Star Wars action-adventure game. On Monday, at Ubisoft Forward, developer Massive Entertainment revealed the first gameplay from Star Wars Outlaws, showing what scoundrel Kay Vess and her fuzzy axolotl alien friend Nix — a Merqaal — will get up to as they attempt to pull off what Ubisoft calls “one of the greatest heists the Outer Rim has ever seen.”

Creative director Julien Gerighty from Massive introduced 10 minutes of gameplay from Star Wars Outlaws, teasing a variety of criminal syndicates; opportunities and dangers for Kay and Nix; and the ways that players will interface with the scum and villainy of Star Wars: through influence, reputation, or cold hard credits.

Alternatively, Kay can interact with her rival scoundrels and Imperial forces with a blaster. In an action-packed gameplay segment, we see Kay battling with a group of Pyke forces who appear to be scavenging an abandoned Imperial base, then beating feet on the back of a speederbike when things get too hairy. From there, she meets up with her handsome droid partner ND-5 in the smuggler town of Jaunta’s Hope to complete a deal with a Mon Cal named Danka… and a mysterious Imperial “friend.”

Kay’s deal goes off with a few hitches, after the Imperial officer threatens our heroine. As Kay tries to vacate the planet of Toshara, in vaguely Grand Theft Auto fashion, a giant “WANTED” warning screen pops up, and the Empire diverts an unusual amount of attention toward our ambitious thief. A space dogfight (and hyperspace retreat) ensues, teasing even more, go-where-you-want levels of adventure.

Star Wars Outlaws appears to tick the boxes of what you’d want from role-playing a Han Solo type: interplanetary escapes from Imperial heat, stealth missions on Star Destroyers, shooting a bunch of aliens trying to jack your stuff, and a furry, endearing sidekick. Ubisoft describes Star Wars Outlaws as an original story, set between the events of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, amid a thriving criminal underworld, as the Galactic Empire focuses all of its attention on the Rebel Alliance.

Massive Entertainment first announced the project now known as Star Wars Outlaws back in 2021. The game is now slated for release on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X sometime in 2024.