Disney confirms, then retracts Star Wars Outlaws release window

By Tomas Franzese January 2, 2024

The first couple months of 2024 are jam-packed with games like Tekken 8, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Princess Peach Showtime, but the fall calendar is currently much more of a mystery. An article from Disney today claimed that Star Wars Outlaws would be one of the fall’s most notable AAA releases, but Ubisoft has since corrected that error and is keeping the highly anticipated game’s release window at a vague “2024” for now.

Kay Vass joined by her small alien companion called Nix in a futuristic city. — Ubisoft

Developed by Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora studio Massive Entertainment, Star Wars Outlaws looks like it will be an ambitious open-world game that will follow young smuggler named Kay Vess and her struggles during the time period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It looks like the closest thing we’ll ever get to a Star Wars version of Red Dead Redemption 2. Star Wars Outlaws impressed with showings at June 2023’s Xbox Games Showcase and Ubisoft Forward, and previously only had a vague 2024 release window.”

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On January 2, the official Disney Parks Blog posted about 24 new Disney experiences coming throughout this year. One of those experiences is Star Wars Outlaws, and it said that the game would launch in “late 2024.” Outlets including IGN reported on this, but Ubisoft quickly caught Disney’s error. The Disney Parks Blog now only says it’ll arrive in 2024, while IGN was asked to “correct” the release window to a much more vague 2024.

As a result, the specifics of Star Wars Outlaws‘ release window now seems like more of a mystery than it was before. Hopefully, this means that the game arrives a bit earlier than expected, but Ubisoft’s track record also indicates that it could eventually be delayed further. Regardless, Star Wars Outlaws will be on PC, PlayStation , and Xbox Series X/S whenever it launches.

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Gaming Staff Writer

As a Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

All Jet Vault locations in Star Wars Outlaws

Kay tries to enter Crimson Dawn territory.

One of the most tantalizing distractions in Star Wars Outlaws is the Jet Kordo Holodiscs. After you find your first one and gain access to the Holotracker early on in the game, you will be teased with a hidden treasure from this legendary scoundrel that is just waiting to be looted. Unlock other treasures that you can just lockpick, Jet put a bit more thought into keeping his loot hidden from anyone unworthy of it. You will need to find six individual vaults across the galaxy before you can get the big score at the end, but it will all be worth it. If you're having trouble locating each vault, we'll put an X on your map so you can go right to them.
Jet Kordo rewards

After you've collected all the loot from the vaults and returned to Toshara, you can claim your last reward.

Gaming

One small Star Wars Outlaws moment gets autism representation right

Star Wars Outlaws key art that features Kay Vess.

While playing through the first few hours of Star Wars Outlaws, I found myself once again presented with an all-too-familiar trope. ND-5, the game's primary droid crewmate to Kay Vess, appeared to be yet another autism-coded droid that is typically played for laughs or treated as "other" by the main cast.

He is introduced as a stoic and serious character who appears to have no sympathy for anything but his mission. Once he and Kay officially team up, he is given the role of the straight man. Kay will quip and make ironic or sarcastic comments that ND-5 responds to with sincerity. Whenever she asks a question, he delivers his honest answer without cushioning the blow if it would be insulting. In times when Kay wants to act based on emotion, he counters with cold logic. Generally speaking, these are all common traits those on the autism spectrum present.

Gaming

Star Wars Outlaws pays its respects to a 1980s arcade legend

An arcade machine appears in Star Wars Outlaws.

While the era of arcades was long past its prime by the time I started playing games, I still appreciate the elegant simplicity of many of those classics. Games like Pac-Man, Pole Position, and Galaga aren't that complex ,but I'm drawn to replay them as I chase high scores. I was reminded of that grace of arcade games when I played Star Wars Outlaws, which includes some original ones as in-world minigames.

Players can find arcade cabinets for two different games-within-a-game near cantinas across Star Wars Outlaws' planets. One is titled Raven 6 and is a space shooter based on the look and feel of Atari's classic Star Wars arcade game. The other is Racer, a time trial game where players must speed to the end of a level as quickly as possible without hitting any obstacles.