The first open-world Star Wars game is on the way from Ubisoft, but just how open are those worlds? According to developer Massive Entertainment, Star Wars Outlaws will feature several “hand-crafted” planets to explore, each one being roughly the size of two “zones” in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.
Quick Facts
- Star Wars Outlaws will feature several “hand-crafted” planets to explore.
- Each planet is roughly the size of two “zones” in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.
- The game is currently aiming to release in 2024 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
“It’s a crude analogy, but the size of one planet might be about [equivalent to] two of the zones in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, for example,” creative director Julian Gerighty said to Edge magazine (via Eurogamer). “It could be two to three zones. But it’s not, you know, this sort of epic ‘the whole of England recreated’ approach.”
It’s not clear yet as to just how many planets will be available to explore in Star Wars Outlaws, but Gerighty added that Massive is looking to emphasize open-ended gameplay inside of each planetary zone. “We’re really focusing on what ‘open world’ means to the player, which is full freedom of approach,” Gerighty said. Players will also be able to explore some of the space around each planet, but as Gerighty put it, don’t expect to see entire planets procedurally generated in Star Wars Outlaws, as Massive Entertainment is creating something that is more “manageable” in size.
Another interesting piece of information that the director revealed was the 1970s influence on the game, as the studio has recreated lenses of that era to produce film techniques that were born of the cinematic era. “So you have the vignetting, film grain, lens breathing, the curvature of a thicker lens, the slight lens flares–all of these things that are very subtle, but come together to give you a more cinematic experience,” he said.
Star Wars Outlaws is currently aiming to release in 2024 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, but before Massive heads to a galaxy far (far!) away, it’ll be making a pitstop in the Alpha Centauri system for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. For more on the next big Star Wars game, you can check out everything that we know about Star Wars Outlaws and how Massive Entertainment is aiming to create the most ambitious Star Wars yet.
