Star Wars: Outlaws Planets Will Be As Big As Entire Assassin’s Creed Games

Ubisoft’s highly anticipated open-world Star Wars game, Star Wars: Outlaws, has generated immense excitement among fans who have come to expect nothing less than grandeur from the publisher’s open-world titles. However, recent confirmation from the developers sheds light on just how massive the game may turn out to be. In an interview with Edge Magazine, the creative director of Outlaws, Julian Gerighty, revealed that the planets within the game will be on a scale comparable to multiple regions found in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

After months of rumors and speculation, Ubisoft and their in-house developers, Massive Entertainment, finally unveiled Star Wars: Outlaws in June. Set in the iconic Star Wars universe, Outlaws takes place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and players will assume the role of Kay Vess, a scoundrel and thief. True to the spirit of Star Wars, a franchise known for its emphasis on found family and diverse groups uniting against common enemies, Kay Vess will have companions on their journey, including a charming alien sidekick and an intriguingly attractive droid partner. While specific details regarding the game’s narrative and gameplay remain undisclosed, one thing is certain: the galaxy of Outlaws will be vast and sprawling, though not excessively so.

Gerighty’s analogy of comparing the hand-crafted planets in Outlaws to zones in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey offers a glimpse into the game’s scope. He stated, “It’s a crude analogy, but the size of one planet might be [equivalent to] two of the zones in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey… It could be two to three zones. But it’s not this sort of epic ‘the whole of England recreated’ approach.” This comparison suggests that the planets in Star Wars: Outlaws will be considerably larger than even the entire Assassin’s Creed games like Syndicate or Unity.

To truly comprehend the magnitude of these planets, one must consider the evolution of map sizes within the Assassin’s Creed series. Notably, the expansive London map in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate would fit comfortably within a mere fraction of the open world in Assassin’s Creed Origins. In fact, you could fit numerous copies of Syndicate’s map within Origins and still have ample space. Furthermore, the vastness of Origins’ map pales in comparison to the sprawling Greek world of Odyssey. Therefore, when envisioning two or three regions from Odyssey, even if they are medium-sized areas, we are dealing with vast expanses of digital terrain.

What sets Star Wars: Outlaws apart is the fact that all of its planets are meticulously handcrafted rather than procedurally generated, a departure from the approach taken by Bethesda in their upcoming epic RPG, Starfield. While Starfield employs procedural generation to populate its vast galaxy, Gerighty emphasized that Massive and Ubisoft are opting for a “handcrafted” and “manageable” approach to create the open-world experience in Outlaws. While the exact number of featured worlds in Outlaws remains unknown, Gerighty’s comments imply that the game will feature a more curated selection of planets compared to the hundreds found in Starfield.

While the prospect of exploring sprawling, handcrafted Star Wars planets teeming with captivating missions and awe-inspiring locations is enticing, there is a concern that these Assassin’s Creed-sized worlds may become cluttered with overwhelming amounts of icons and symbols. Many players hope for a sense of open space, areas where they can traverse without feeling compelled to tick off countless tasks from an endless checklist. Fortunately, it has been revealed that players will not have unrestricted freedom to land their ships anywhere but rather at designated points on each planet, which indicates a level of restraint and focus.

Although Star Wars: Outlaws does not have a specific release date, Ubisoft has announced that it will launch in 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Given the nature of game development, it wouldn’t be surprising if the release were delayed to 2025. Nonetheless, fans eagerly await the opportunity to embark on this ambitious Star Wars adventure and explore the immersive galaxy crafted by Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment.