Key Takeaways
- Star Wars Outlaws has a new creative director in Drew Rechner, who has taken over from previous creative director Julian Gerighty.
- Rechner used his new position’s announcement to thank fans for both their positive responses to the game, and the constructive feedback that was also left.
- It was not made clear why Rechner is taking over from Gerighty, though it’s possible the latter may have moved onto a bigger project.
Star Wars Outlaws didn’t really set the world on fire when it launched this past August, and while it’s a game that definitely has its admirers, critical and commercial success were most likely well below what Ubisoft and Massive were hoping for, with sales falling below its previous project Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. To the developer’s credit though, they’re still soldiering on with improvements and updates, along with a bunch of DLC that was promised before launch.
However, it seems as though a new person has been brought on board to oversee the game’s post-launch output, as it was announced in a Star Wars Outlaws dev diary earlier today that Massive Entertainment’s Drew Rechner would be taking over the role from previous creative director Julian Gerighty. According to his LinkedIn profile, Rechner has been a fellow creative director at Massive since January 2024, and apparently stepped into the role a short while ago.
Star Wars Outlaws’ New Creative Director Asks For “Constructive Feedback”
In his first address, Rechner thanks Star Wars Outlaws fans for their “positive response” to the game, but also thanks those that have left constructive feedback since the game’s release too, explaining that it has helped Massive Entertainment make improvements where they’re needed the most.
I also want to take the time to say that we hear not only your positive feedback, but your constructive feedback as well. Thank you for sharing with us and helping us make the game even better.
Rechner then talks about the changes coming to the game when the first update with him as creative director drops later this month. He explains that three key areas will be improved in the next patch, those being adding more depth and excitement, improving character controls, and making more improvements to the game’s stealth system, which was heavily scrutinized upon launch.
Unfortunately, Rechner doesn’t go into exactly why these role changes are happening in the first place, as a game getting a new creative director two months after it launches is a little strange. We can most likely assume that Rechner has been brought on board to oversee the development of the game’s two story packs, the first of which will release alongside Update 1.4 later this month.
On the other hand, Gerighty hasn’t commented on this personnel change on either Twitter or his LinkedIn profile, meaning it’s a complete mystery as to why he isn’t overseeing the rest of Star Wars Outlaws’ post-launch development. It’s possible that the creative director may have been shifted onto another project, having previously worked on The Division 2 and The Crew, though we won’t know for sure until we hear from Gerighty himself.
Star Wars Outlaws follows Kay Vess as she bids to out manoeuver the galaxy’s deadliest criminals. An open-world action-adventure game from Ubisoft, it also features grand space battles and a deep story.