Star Wars Outlaws May Have Missed Its Mark, But Its Premise Shouldn’t Be Taken for Granted

Last year, Star Wars Outlaws seemed to dominate the gaming news circuit, but now it seems like audiences have more or less forgotten about it. One could chalk this up to the erratic and ever-changing nature of the games industry as a whole—gamers have a lot to distract them in 2025, after all—but the muted response to Star Wars Outlaws can also be attributed to the quality of the game itself.

While most would agree that Outlaws isn’t a disaster, it did strike many as underwhelming. The game is replete with all the hallmarks of modern Ubisoft: a vast open world with repetitive activities, a blend of combat and stealth, and an epic story that struggles to maintain its momentum over the course of so many hours. Narrative seems to be a particular sticking point for Star Wars Outlaws detractors, who argue that the sanitized and meandering nature of Kay Vess’ story makes for an unfortunately boring experience, despite its moments of greatness. Watered-down gameplay mechanics have also drawn the ire of Outlaws players. Needless to say, the game wasn’t a runaway hit, but future Star Wars projects can still learn from it.

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Every Star Wars Game Confirmed To Be In Development in 2025

Star Wars has historically been ubiquitous in gaming, and that’s not changing anytime soon, as several high-profile game adaptations are in the works.

Star Wars Outlaws Stumbled, But Its Premise Shouldn’t Go To Waste

There’s Still Potential In The Non-Jedi Side of Star Wars

Older gamers might remember the infamous Star Wars 1313, a Boba Fett-centered, linear action-adventure game set in Coruscant. The concept attracted no shortage of hype in the early 2010s, with audiences generally welcoming 1313 as a breath of fresh air and a nice alternative to The Force Unleashed, which was still highly relevant during that time. Sadly, it’s 2025 now, and there’s still not been any news about Star Wars 1313, leading most to assume that the project has been axed.

The joy with which gaming audiences embraced Star Wars 1313 is indicative of how much potential there is in a more grounded, non-Jedi-centric Star Wars game. TV and film producers seem to be aware of this—Andor and The Mandalorian are regularly hailed as some of the best Star Wars projects of the past several years—but game developers often seem more drawn to the lightsaber-and-force side of the Star Wars equation. This makes sense, as Jedi provide far more fertile soil for the power fantasy that so many look for in video games, but one must wonder if the Star Wars IP is limiting itself by not further exploring the spacebound gunslinger fantasy.

There are a lot of interesting alien races, communities, and dense, multifaceted factions in Star Wars, but games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor don’t often give players a good look at these strengths. This is because, with a few exceptions, Jedi aren’t well-suited to the arts of deception, persuasion, and interpersonal communication as much as mortal combat; Jedi don’t often have the need to lounge around cantinas, navigating the dirty and dangerous underbelly of Star Wars society. When they do engage in such activities, there’s a crucial lack of tension, as precious few outlaws, smugglers, or bounty hunters can stand a chance against a Jedi.

What Future Star Wars Games Could Learn from Star Wars Outlaws

A common critique of Ubisoft games is that they are too bloated: the open-world formula that the developer favors may be influential, but it can often lead to an ostensible quantity-over-quality approach to game design. That is, spectacle and scale are prioritized over depth and finely tuned gameplay or narrative design.

Maybe, instead of taking place in a massive but underwhelming open-world, future Star Wars “outlaw” games could be linear, following the design philosophy of Star Wars 1313. This could support the dream of an Uncharted-style blockbuster adventure, complete with a colorful cast of characters, bombastic setpieces, and a well-paced, dramatic narrative, rather than one that’s doled out between hours of filler content.