Star Wars Outlaws creative director Julian Gerighty talks about creating the first open-world Star Wars game, why it took so long to hit shelves, and answers why it was set in the Original Trilogy era.
“Believe it or not, making games is ambitious. Games that allow you to jump on a speeder, ride off into the sunset, stop off at a cantina on the roadside, call your ship and then blast off seamlessly into space, that’s really, really, really hard,” Gerighty said. “We had to wait until we had solid state hard drives, which helped people get into very fast updates and visuals. It’s a very ambitious game, but it was the challenge that we wanted to take on.”
The game is set in the era of the Galactic Civil War, between the events of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.” It follows Kay Vess and her adorable sidekick Nix as they pillage across the galaxy to pursue riches, freedom and the means to start a new life in a cruel and unforgiving, war-torn galaxy.
After a foiled heist attempt on the city of Canto Bight, a bounty is placed on Kay’s head. Forced to flee, Kay and Nix must strike out on their own through the humid jungles of the planet Akiva and the savannas of Toshara. As the story unravels, Kay is caught between a war against light and dark for the freedom of the entire galaxy.
When asked why the team chose to pursue this particular era in the “Star Wars” mythos, as opposed to the Clone Wars or the High Republic eras, Gerighty said the team felt this particular chunk in the timeline felt the most apt to tell a story of gunslingers and crime bosses.
“We came to Lucasfilm Games, and we said, ‘We want to make an open-world “Star War,”‘ and they said, ‘There’s this one-year period between “Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” that is perfect,’” Gerighty said. “The Empire is on the ascendant. The rebels have just lost that battle at Hoth. They’re scattered to the four corners of the universe.”
He continued: “The galaxy and the criminal syndicates are rising in power. They’re taking over. And that’s the perfect moment for this scoundrel adventure because it allows you to build up your reputation, form alliances and play with those alliances by betraying them with the reputation system.”
Gerighty reflected on the game’s journey from its original inception and pitch to its release. He says that working on this project was a “dream come true” and is proud of his team’s commitment and dedication to creating the first open-world “Star Wars” game for the modern era of gaming.
Read the interview in full here.
You can purchase Star Wars Outlaws for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC now, and coming to Steam on November 21st — happy gaming!
