Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws may be the star of this year’s Summer Games Fest season. Shown during the publisher’s Ubisoft Connect showcase, the new open-world adventure looks like one of the most thrilling games the franchise has ever seen.
Playing as smuggler Kay Vess, you’re tasked with performing the biggest heist the Outer Rim has ever seen in order to buy your freedom back from a dreaded crime syndicate.
As it turns out, Star Wars Outlaws is more than just a space-faring action game. In fact, Ubisoft Massive has worked to create the first proper GTA in space, complete with a fully functioning “wanted” system that will see the Empire and more chase you across the Galaxy.
As reported by GamesRadar, creative director Julian Gerighty revealed that players will have an unparalleled amount of freedom. You can hop into their ship and zip from planet to planet, open fire on a crowd of stormtroopers and bribe Imperials to let your crimes fly.
However, the more crimes you commit, the less generous the Empire will be. While early on you may only have to deal with a few Stormtroopers or a couple of TIE Fighters, your wrongdoing could result in a fleet being dispatched to take you out.
Player choice also related to how you can interact with the game’s numerous crime syndicates. If you perform actions to help the Hutts, the Pikes may not want to help you, and vice versa.
“Kay's reputation with the syndicates will play a big role in how she approaches her journey,” said narrative director Navid Khavari. “Whether it's the Pykes, Hutts, or others. We had a saying that in the underworld, you live and die by your reputation. If a job she takes hurts a syndicate, those opportunities aren't available, so her choices play into how she experiences her journey."
Star Wars Outlaws’ GTA-style systems are a rather quaint way of describing its gameplay. On the one hand, it does have a GTA wanted system, but it’s also far deeper than any prior Grand Theft Auto game has been shown to be. Maybe GTA 6 will break that trend?
As a next-gen only title, Ubisoft’s new Star Wars game is shaping up to be a mind-blowing AAA experience on PC and console. While the game does seem to have a protagonist that likes to talk every three seconds during combat, its gameplay looks absolutely amazing. Also, everyone is thirsty for the game’s shirtless droid.
Ubisoft has not currently revealed a release date for Star Wars Outlaws. However, the game is tentatively scheduled to release sometime in 2024 for Xbox Series, PS5 and PC.