The Argument For and Against More Canon Games Like Outlaws

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 18, 2024 5 Views 8 Min Read
The Argument For and Against More Canon Games Like Outlaws

Ubisoft’s open-world action game Star Wars Outlaws was released earlier this year. Set in the Star Wars galaxy between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Outlaws follows the thief Kay Vess as she assembles a crew for a make-or-break heist. Outlaws joins other Star Wars games like Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor as part of Disney’s ongoing push into the gaming industry. Though Outlaws received decent reviews from many critics, its sales did not meet Ubisoft’s expectations.




Star Wars Outlaws‘ repetitive gameplay did contribute to the game’s disappointing release, but so too did the growing fatigue for the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars‘ constant bombardment of new movies, streaming TV shows, and video games has not only made it difficult to keep up to date with the series, but has stripped Star Wars lore of its mystical mystery. Outlaws‘ lacking sales makes one wonder how the Star Wars franchise should handle canonical video games in the future.

Star Wars logo Rise of Skywalker

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The Pros and Cons of Games Like Star Wars Outlaws


The Pros of Canonical Star Wars Games

Making a new Star Wars game non-canonical could immediately turn certain fans in the community away. Having a game break away from canon takes away the impact of the player’s actions, as they know from the get-go that none of this is actually happening in the Star Wars universe that they’re attached to. What would otherwise feel like a big event for the community could now be perceived as nothing more than a gimmicky What-If?-type story.

Canonical games have also helped to flesh out Star Wars‘ setting and have made certain aspects of the lore more accessible to different members of the community. For example, Jedi: Fallen Order not only expanded the lore of the Inquisitors from Star Wars Rebels, but it also introduced the Jedi-hunting faction to Star Wars fans who had never gotten around to watching the animated series. Fallen Order‘s handling of the Inquisitors was so well received that it inspired elements of the Kenobi Disney Plus series. This connectivity between entries makes the Star Wars galaxy feel larger, and it rewards fans who put in the time to watch, read, or play the Disney-produced Star Wars content.


The Cons of Canonical Star Wars Games

Continuing to create more canon games like Star Wars Outlaws does still have some downsides. Disney has been highly criticized by fans for taking Star Wars in an MCU-like direction. The company and its partners are constantly releasing new canonical content for the franchise that has overly complicated Star Wars‘ timeline. Filling the gap between every movie with additional stories from comics, novels, shows, and video games makes it difficult for anyone that isn’t on the pulse to decipher when the content takes place and if it matters to the storylines they care about. Rather than drawing people in with the promise of an interwoven galactic narrative, many fans see the layers upon layers of lore and throw in the towel.


Every new game that gets added to the Star Wars canon also creates a daunting task for both that game’s writing team and any team that comes after. Firstly, since all the modern Star Wars games take place between movies, it’s difficult to establish stakes. In Jedi: Fallen Order, Cal Kestis’ journey — despite having memorable characters and intriguing story beats — ultimately doesn’t matter, because anyone who has seen the Star Wars movies already knows that Cal won’t succeed at establishing a new Jedi order. Additionally, these games make it harder and harder to write new Star Wars stories. Finding an aspect of Star Wars that hasn’t been addressed in previous media is hard, and the abundance of lore in the franchise also makes it tough to create a narrative that doesn’t conflict with other content or history in the canon.


There is a desire for new games within the Star Wars canon. Even though Outlaws wasn’t a success, Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor were both a hit with Star Wars fans. However, as the period of time between Revenge of the Sith and The Force Awakens gets more and more saturated with content, Star Wars games might want to start thinking up a new approach. If exploring an untapped period of Star Wars‘ history isn’t on the table, creating a non-canonical game like the 2000s classic Star Wars: The Force Unleashed could be an interesting option in the meantime.

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