Star Wars Outlaws Will Emulate Original Trilogy's Style Using New Tech

Star Wars Outlaws is aiming to emulate the look and feel of the original trilogy using some new technology. There's a wealth of Star Wars games out there, but they've certainly slowed down since Disney acquired the franchise. Part of this is because Disney gave EA the exclusive rights to make console Star Wars games for about a decade, which resulted in a lot of canceled Star Wars games and a couple of good ones, and a couple of so-so ones. The output was pretty minimal, but everyone could agree that they at least had great production value and really respected the presentation of the Star Wars IP. 

Ubisoft will get to take its own crack at the IP next year with Star Wars Outlaws and it's the first ever open-world game in the franchise. While we've only gotten a small taste of what to expect from the game, Ubisoft has been teasing more about the game in interviews recently. Creative director Julian Gerighty told Edge Magazine (via PlayStation Lifestyle) that the game is utilizing new technology to help it feel like it comes from the era of the original trilogy, as the game is set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The camera in the game has "vignetting, film grain, lens breathing, the curvature of a thicker lens, [and] the slight lens flares" that replicates cameras from the time of the filming of those movies. He even noted this comes down to the look of some of the items in the game, as they have a timeless feel, but still look of a certain era.

"I can even come down to something as granular as the industrial design of Kay's binoculars," said Gerighty. "There's a shape language there that is inspired by the '70s or '80s but is fundamentally almost timeless."  

As of right now, it remains to be seen how Star Wars Outlaws will turn out. Ubisoft is known for making some of the biggest open-world games out there, so they certainly have their work cut out for themselves. Hopefully, the game will deliver the open-world Star Wars experience fans have been waiting for.

Star Wars Outlaws will release in 2024.