Star Wars Outlaws, which has been described as the first true Star Wars open world game ever made, is just a month and a half away from its August 30 release date. The countdown to launch has started for fans, and the developers at Ubisoft Massive have been featured in a few new interviews ahead of the event.
Game Director Julian Gerighty spoke at length with GamesIndustry, addressing common concerns such as fatigue for traditional Ubisoft open world games like Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. According to Gerighty, Massive’s DNA has always been different to begin with.
We are hyper conscious of the Ubisoft house style. Massive has always been different. The Division and The Division 2 were different. Originally, Massive was an independent studio, then an Activision studio, so it has always thought very differently. The DNA of Massive is quite unique from Ubisoft. But there are so many great lessons to be learned by the Ubisoft way of making games.
And Star Wars itself suggested some different ways of doing things. I will give you one example. Instead of having a skill tree and an upgrade tree like a traditional game, here you seek out experts to create this padawan/master relationship in the world, which will lead you on adventures in order to upgrade your character. Everything is ingrained in people and the world.
Indeed, there won’t be any towers to climb in order to reveal the ‘fog of war’ on the various planets. Protagonist Kay Vess will instead need to eavesdrop or collect information straight from specific non-player characters (NPCs) to discover certain missions and activities.
The planets (and space, too) will also be lively at all times, with dynamic events such as the Empire arresting some civilians, criminal syndicates skirmishing with one another, and other such scenarios. It will be up to the player whether to engage or not. Recently, Ubisoft Massive also said Star Wars Outlaws was carefully designed to ensure it would always feel fun, choosing quality over quantity. Even so, side content should be as long as the main quest, according to the developers. Completionists should be looking at around sixty hours worth of content in total.
Star Wars Outlaws is out on August 30 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. GeForce NOW users will be able to enjoy the PC version via cloud, including NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and ray tracing if they are subscribed to the Ultimate tier; the game will also be playable right away for Ubisoft+ subscribers.
For a thorough overview of each facet of the game, check our roundup article.
