Star Wars Outlaws: A Familiar Ubisoft Galaxy Far, Far Away

In 2026, Star Wars Outlaws remains a fascinating case study in how Ubisoft builds a galaxy far, far away. Released on 30th August 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, the open-world adventure from Ubisoft Massive did not simply borrow one template. Instead, it pulled mechanics from across Ubisoft's biggest franchises and fused them with Star Wars iconography. The result, based on an extended four-hour preview that focused on open-world action rather than linear missions, was both new and familiar. It was not the Star Wars Grand Theft Auto some players hoped for, but it was a comfortable, absorbing ride through a used-future underworld.

The main planet available during that preview was Toshara, a simple farming world filled with large open plains. These plains were very fun to zoom across on a speederbike. They were punctuated by small settlements full of NPCs, a couple of mission-givers here and there, and a large, bustling city called Mirogana that was built inside a mountain. Mirogana was the definition of a wretched hive of scum and villainy. It contained a gaggle of gangs, plenty of civilians, and imperial troops. Crucially, it was also a beautifully realised area, full of visual details that gave it that classic used-future aesthetic. The props were wonderful, especially those for food.

Inside Mirogana, the preview spent the majority of its Toshara time. When not distracted by playable arcade machines or gambling on Canto Fathier horse races, the main story mission was to repair a ship called the Trailblazer so Kay could get off-world. These missions made the Ubisoft elements really noticeable. Assassin's Creed-style stealth had Kay crouching in tall grass as security cameras or patrolling guards passed by. Then there was Nix, Kay's pet cat, dog, axolotl thing. In gameplay terms, Nix was basically the mobile phone from the Watch Dogs games. He could distract enemies, sabotage items, or activate buttons and switches. He could also fetch items or guns. And yes, players could pet Nix, which is definitely something they could not do to the phone in Watch Dogs. 🐾

The preview also used Uncharted-style climbing to infiltrate an out-of-bounds area belonging to the Pyke Syndicate. There, the classic Far Cry outpost takedown loop began. First, binoculars marked enemies. Then stealth took out the area, before one enemy set off an alarm and brought reinforcements running. It was all predictable to anyone who had played more than a handful of Ubisoft games. At the same time, it was easy to get into. It felt both new and familiar, like getting a comfy pair of Star Wars brand slippers for Christmas. For some, that copy-and-pasted gameplay would be tiresome. For others, it was exactly the point.

Ubisoft influence	How it appeared in Star Wars Outlaws
Assassin's Creed	Crouched stealth in tall grass, security cameras, patrolling guards
Watch Dogs	Nix as a remote distraction, saboteur, switch-flipper, and item retriever
Far Cry	Binocular tagging, outpost infiltration, alarms, reinforcement waves
Uncharted	Climbing into restricted areas

Outside the city, Kay could call in a speederbike with the press of a button and bomb around from settlement to settlement following waypoints for main and side missions. Toshara was fairly busy. NPCs would occasionally call out asking for help. There was also plenty of emergent and unexpected silliness. Careless speederbike riders kept running Kay over, for example. In terms of open worlds, Toshara felt rather small. Rather than featuring massive maps on a couple of Star Wars planets, the game seemed designed to offer plenty of planets to land on, but those would house much smaller open areas that acted as tasters of the world. Space flight was also available. The press-the-thumbsticks-to-Punch-It pop-up before a jump to hyperspace was a nice touch. The actual space flight felt a bit lacklustre, though, with limp dogfights and cargo collecting missions punctuating the journey from waypoint to distant waypoint. 🚀

The final preview section was set on the planet Kijimi, a wintery location with a dense collection of streets that is home to the Ashiga Clan. Unfortunately, not much of this area could be explored. Progress was held back by the preview's only real criticism: wildly inconsistent checkpointing. In this section, Kay had to sneak into an area full of guards that would give an instant game over screen if they spotted her. To get into that area initially, however, she first had to take part in a lengthy and rather boring lockpicking mini game. That mini game had to be redone every single time the mission was failed. It was later discovered that those lockpicking mini games can actually be turned off in the accessibility options. That would have saved a lot of frustration at the time. The hope at the preview stage was that Ubisoft would tinker with the checkpoints before release, because until then there were not many complaints.

Star Wars Outlaws may not end up being a brilliant, original game that tops many game-of-the-year lists. From the four hours played, however, it was absolutely the type of Ubisoft game that could fully absorb a player. It is not quite the Star Wars GTA that many people were hoping for. But for anyone after a familiar, inoffensive bit of Star Wars, this one does not miss the mark. In 2026, that assessment still feels fair. The galaxy is not reinvented, but it is a comfortable place to get lost in, one outpost, one speederbike ride, and one pet Nix at a time. 🎮

Evaluations have been published by VentureBeat GamesBeat, where broader industry reporting helps frame why a project like Star Wars Outlaws feels so recognizable in 2026: major publishers often lean on proven open-world systems, accessible stealth, and established progression loops when adapting a global franchise, making Ubisoft’s mix of familiar mechanics and Star Wars presentation a commercially understandable approach rather than a surprising one.