Comic-Con International returned to downtown San Diego from July 20th through July 23rd for a weekend packed with exciting new games, comics, movies, TV, and cosplay, despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. With the game set to be released sometime in 2024, Ubisoft held a panel for Star Wars Outlaws, the first open-world game set in a galaxy far, far away, showing off a ton of new details.
Moderated by Ubisoft’s own Chastity Vicencio, panelists Julian Gerighty (Creative Director, Ubisoft), Matt Martin (Sr. Creative Executive, Franchise Story and Content at Lucasfilm), and Navid Khavari (Narrative Director, Ubisoft) discussed the game’s setting, timeline placement in the broader universe, characters, and vehicles players will experience during their time with the game.
Timeline and Setting
Star Wars Outlaws takes place canonically between Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi, and the developers said that their concept for the game fits perfectly in this semi-unexplored window of Star Wars lore. The game will span multiple planets, including fan favorite Tatooine, the mysterious Kijimi (last seen in Star Wars Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker), and a new world, Toshara. With this being a fully open-world style game, players can expect to explore every nook and cranny of these worlds to find side quests, gear, and other memorable locations.
Characters
Announced at the panel, longtime Star Wars alumni Dee Bradley Baker will voice the legendary Jabba the Hutt, as well as the new companion character Nix. Baker joins Humberly González as protagonist Kay Vess and Jay Rincon as ND-5, a gruff Clone Wars veteran who inadvertently finds himself traveling with Kay. He also rocks a pretty sweet coat. Additionally, Star Wars Outlaws features a handful of familiar crime organizations like the Hutts and Pyke Syndicate, while introducing a new underworld power.
Gameplay
We know Star Wars Outlaws will feature Ubisoft’s signature open-world formula, and recent trailers have shown off the game’s combat and stealth mechanics, but the San Diego Comic-Con panel delved a little deeper into what players can expect when they get the controller in their hand. Details were hush, but Kay’s companion Nix will serve as a mechanic that players can use to attack and sneak around with. Also shown off during the panel was Kay’s starship, the Trailblazer, which players can use to explore the galaxy, engage in dogfights, and interact with other characters.
Star Wars Outlaws is still a ways away, with a broad release window of 2024, but the San Diego Comic-Con 2023 panel gave us our closest look yet at Ubisoft’s open-world adventure. What are you excited about most when the game finally drops? Let us know on all of our socials, and be sure to check out more of Temple of Geek’s SDCC coverage below!
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