Star Wars Outlaws' place in the wider universe means it doesn't have multiple endings
Kay's story needs to fit into a finite space
Despite a big focus on player choice, Star Wars Outlaws won't be offering multiple endings.
Earlier today on August 16, Game Informer published an interview with Navid Khavari, narrative director on Star Wars Outlaws at Ubisoft Massive. When directly asked how many endings Outlaws would offer, Khavari sort of sidestepped the question, revealing that every playthrough would offer variation via the game's reputation system, instead of multiple endings.
The story choices you make in Star Wars Outlaws affect reputation more than specific narrative beats. Don't expect multiple endings.You can read the full interview with the game's narrative director here. https://t.co/lyOTc0IvX9 pic.twitter.com/zKxgZsIw79August 16, 2023
"For us and Lucasfilm Games it’s all about authenticity, and we need to ensure that Kay’s story fits within the wider galaxy of Star Wars, so the ending itself we felt had certain key beats that it had to hit," Khavari said. "The variation does come through the reputation system, so every player will have a different profile of their reputation with the various syndicates throughout the game, and you’ll see that play out throughout the story."
This might come as a bit of a surprise to some out there looking forward to Outlaws. Khavari and other senior developers on the project have been heralding player choice in Outlaws since it was revealed earlier this year, talking up the fact that the decisions you make as protagonist Kay Vess effect the world around you and which factions you're allied with.
You can even betray Jabba the Hutt, if you're feeling bold enough. All this player choice might've lead some to believe there'd be multiple endings in Outlaws, but Khavari's comments make it seem like the game needed to have one definitive ending to fit into the overarching Star Wars universe. Set in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Outlaws certainly has a finite space to work in.
Star Wars Outlaws launches next year in 2024 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
A Star Wars Outlaws lead previously detailed the size of every planet, and it sounds like the game is going for focused and controlled scope over massive scale.
Sign up to the 12DOVE Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.