Summary
Last year’sStar Wars Outlawsmarked a new game entry in the franchise that wasn’t part of EA’s longtime exclusivity deal with the IP. Developed and published by Massive Entertainment in partnership with Ubisoft,Star Wars Outlawswas set in the time betweenThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi, focusing on the adventure of professional thief and smuggler, Kay Vess, as she navigates the dangerous and unpredictable underworld of theStar Warsuniverse.
Star Wars Outlawssaw a less than stellar reception, however, with underwhelming sales metrics according to the studios, and many fans and critics pointing out some major shortcomings, particularly in its stealth mechanics. Since its launch, Massive has added a number of patches and updates that overhauled this aspect and introduced other general quality of life fixes. Even so, it doesn’t seem like a secondOutlawsis happening at this point. But if that ever changes, another title would still have a specific burden to bear regarding how it might handle the integration of one of its central features: the faction reputational system.
EA has previously confirmed that athird and final entry in itsStar Wars Jediseriesis currently in production.
A Theoretical Star Wars Outlaws Sequel Would Need to Account For Kay’s Standing With the Factions
Star Wars Outlaws' Gangs and Reputation System Create a Continuity Conundrum For a Potential Sequel
As Kay finds herself increasingly drawn into and embroiled in the criminal underworld, she encounters a range of familiar factions and gangs:
All of these had their own crime rackets and territorial claims, and were usually at odds with each other as they jostled for power and influence. Players can decide to work directly with, against, or double cross any of these at nearly any point, whether for major quests or minor jobs, with the game often offering the third option at the conclusion of most missions.
It was a design choice that was in keeping withStar Wars Outlaws' timeline, setting, and themes; highlighting the underhanded nature of the organizations and making it central to gameplay and plot. However, it raises the issue of whether, and how, a theoretical follow-up could meaningfully incorporate the decisions players made while also expanding on Kay’s story and character.
How a Possible Star Wars Outlaws Sequel Could Incorporate Previous Player Choices
If there are ever plans for a secondStar Wars Outlawsouting, there are a couple of ways it might handle integrating prior reputation. Of course, the easiest would just be to reset all reputations to neutral, justifying this through some convenient plot reasons. But that could easily feel too contrived and undercut the ostensible freedom of choice the first title offered players, erasing any sense of ownership fans had over their version of Kay and their chosen standing with the gangs.
Another approach it could take would be to emulategames likeMass EffectorThe Witcher,and offer a save transfer feature that would set the levels to where they were near the end of players' previous playthroughs. This is obviously a bigger development task though, and it’s uncertain whether it would be deemed worth the effort to do so.
A third option would be to let fans themselves set their preferred relationships with the factions at the start, adjusting them to their liking and having the gangs react accordingly once they are encountered again. Both this and the above could theoretically be offered as well, but that would mean double the work, and again it might be thought more prudent, at least on the development side, to start from scratch. While this may be moot for now, as it doesn’t currently look like asecondStar Wars Outlawsis forthcoming, it would need to be considered if one is greenlit down the line.
