In the neon-drenched worker's district of Canto Bight, a humble thief named Kay Vess and her furry companion Nix are just trying to make ends meet. Their lives are a whirlwind of petty crimes—pickpocketing unsuspecting bystanders and placing risky bets on the thunderous fathier races that define the city's underbelly. Little do they know, this modest existence is about to be blasted into the stratosphere. Soon, a tangled web involving the notorious Zerek Besh, the Pyke Syndicate, the shadowy Crimson Dawn, the enigmatic Ashiga, and the ever-greedy Hutts will rocket them across the galaxy to planets like Toshara, Kijimi, Akiva, and that dusty old favorite, Tatooine. It's quite the upgrade from swiping credits in back alleys.
While the main story—the so-called "golden path"—provides plenty of blaster-fueled excitement, some of Star Wars Outlaws' most delightful moments are found off the beaten track. The game is peppered with Expert NPC quests, like the one involving the intriguing droid MT-7, which offer deep dives into the galaxy's stranger corners. And then there's the suave surprise: running into Lando Calrissian himself, who just so happens to be an Expert in his own right. 😎 The charming scoundrel's appearance isn't a one-off either. Ubisoft has confirmed that players haven't seen the last of Lando's cape. The game's season pass promises two juicy DLC chapters:
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Wild Card (Releasing Fall 2025): Centers on the high-stakes card game Sabacc, with Lando presumably dealing a hand of trouble.
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Jabba's Gambit (Releasing Spring 2026): Shifts focus to starship exploits, teaming players up with the piratical Hondo Ohnaka.
While details are still under wraps, the potential for these expansions to whisk players to uncharted corners of the galaxy has fans buzzing with speculation.
The Open-World Paradox: Quality vs. Quantity
Star Wars Outlaws proudly wears the badge of being the first-ever single-player, open-world Star Wars action-adventure game. Yet, for a universe known for its vastness, the playable area—a moon and four planets—can feel like a snapshot rather than a full holocron. To its credit, the game makes the most of its real estate. The original planet Toshara, with its sprawling Toshaal System, is so richly detailed it could arguably support an entire game on its own. From sun-baked mesas to lush valleys, it's a testament to the developers' world-building prowess.
The other locations offer their own unique flavors:
| Planet | Key Feature | Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| Toshara | Original planet, vast open world | Frontier adventure, diverse landscapes |
| Kijimi | Confined to Kijimi City | Claustrophobic, snowy urban sprawl |
| Tatooine | Iconic desert planet | Familiar, lawless, twin suns |
| Akiva | Lush jungle world | Tropical, hidden dangers |
Kijimi, for instance, may not offer a speeder-friendly sandbox, but its cramped, snowy cityscape is dripping with atmosphere and packed with NPCs, each with a story to tell (or a credit pouch to lift). The issue isn't the quality of the worlds but the presentation. Pulling up the galaxy map is a slightly melancholic experience. Vast stretches of star-dotted blackness are punctuated by just a few, tiny, explorable blips. It's a visual that screams "untapped potential," making the galaxy feel strangely empty even as the individual planets burst with life.
The DLC Dilemma: New Horizons or Deeper Dives?
This is where the upcoming DLC presents a fascinating opportunity. The season pass could go in one of two exciting directions, each with its own merits.
1. The "New Planet" Approach: This is the dream for many explorers. Imagine the Wild Card DLC not just being about Sabacc in a backroom, but transporting Kay and Lando to a glittering, entirely new casino planet to take on the galaxy's elite high-rollers. 🃏 Massive Entertainment already has the assets for Canto Bight, providing a foundation to build upon. Alternatively, a brand-new location—even a smaller, focused one like Kijimi City—centered on syndicate-run Sabacc parlors would be a thrilling addition.
Pros of Adding New Planets:
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Fresh visuals and vistas to explore.
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Expands the lore and feel of the game's galaxy.
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Gives players a compelling reason to jump back in.
2. The "Fleshing Out" Approach: The more pragmatic (but still exciting) path would be to use the DLCs to deepen the existing worlds. Since both Wild Card and Jabba's Gambit are set during the events of the main game, they could reveal entirely new districts, storylines, and characters on planets we've already visited. That sprawling Toshara map might have a hidden valley, or Tatooine could reveal a previously inaccessible Hutt palace. This approach allows the developers to enrich their already-built worlds without the immense resource cost of creating entirely new biomes and maps from scratch.
Pros of Expanding Existing Planets:
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More efficient use of development resources.
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Adds layers of depth to locations players are already attached to.
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Could seamlessly integrate new stories into the base game's narrative.
Ultimately, Star Wars Outlaws in 2026 stands at a crossroads. Its base game is a love letter to the grimy, lived-in side of the Star Wars galaxy, offering a fantastic playground for wannabe scoundrels. The sparse galaxy map, however, feels like an invitation. Whether through the DLC or future updates, there's a whole universe out there waiting for Kay and Nix to cause a little chaos. The hope is that Ubisoft and Massive take the shot. After all, in the words of a certain Corellian smuggler, "Never tell me the odds!"
Only time will tell if the DLC will open the door to a new cantina on a distant world or simply show us the secret back room of one we already know. Either way, for a thief and her merqaal, more opportunities for mischief are always welcome.