Crafting Star Wars Outlaws: Integrating the Best of Open-World RPGs

Star Wars Outlaws draws inspiration from numerous open-world games, as shared by game director Julian Gerighty. In a conversation with GamesRadar, Gerighty discussed how he was influenced by several well-known role-playing games (RPGs) while developing the forthcoming Star Wars title.

Gerighty, who considers Assassin's Creed Odyssey one of his preferred games in the series, used it as a benchmark for creating the expansive zones in Outlaws. He previously mentioned that the zones in Outlaws are about the same size as three of those in Odyssey combined. He emphasized that the "freedom of approach in a very large environment - with traversal [and] curiosity at its heart, with RPG light mechanics" in Odyssey deeply resonated with him. To enhance Outlaws, Gerighty even consulted Odyssey developers for advice.

In the same way George Lucas used the works of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa as a foundation for Star Wars, Gerighty shared that Sucker Punch Studios' 2020 samurai RPG, Ghost of Tsushima, served as his primary reference when crafting his open-world game, along with Red Dead Redemption.

Gerighty found it fascinating that Ghost of Tsushima provided more Kurosawa-inspired elements, aligning closer to the inspiration Lucas derived for Star Wars. Red Dead Redemption stood out to him for its immersive world, which wasn't just a series of repetitive activities but a cohesive environment. Gerighty appreciated Ghost of Tsushima for its coherence in storytelling, world-building, and character integration, all of which contributed to a seamless gameplay experience embodying the samurai ninja fantasy in Japan. This holistic approach became one of his guiding principles for Star Wars Outlaws.

Star Wars Outlaws is anticipated to launch on August 30 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.