Highlights

  • Ubisoft took a different approach with Star Wars Outlaws, revealing both cinematic and gameplay trailers right off the bat, which made a strong first impression.
  • The gameplay trailer for Star Wars Outlaws was lengthy and showcased an intense smuggling adventure, but it may have implied that the game is further along in development than it actually is.
  • With Star Wars Outlaws set to release in 2024, the early release of a gameplay trailer could lead to confusion and fan expectations for more information sooner than Ubisoft may be ready to reveal.

Generally speaking, Ubisoft is usually a company that likes to play by the rules, at least when it comes to the traditional video game marketing format. Usually, an Ubisoft game is revealed, it gets a brief overview teaser trailer, and then it isn't seen again until gameplay is ready to be shown off for the first time. This is especially true for Ubisoft's more prestigious franchises, such as Splinter Cell, with its remake being announced back in December 2021 and nothing official coming out about it since. But all bets seem to be off when it comes to Star Wars Outlaws.

Unlike most of its high-profile releases in recent years, Ubisoft has decided to share a surprising amount about Star Wars Outlaws, pretty much right off the bat. Both a cinematic and gameplay trailer for the game debuted earlier this year in quick succession. But while Star Wars Outlaws' gameplay trailer is ultimately a positive thing, it might end up being a bit of a problem for Ubisoft in the end.

Star Wars Outlaws Kijimi
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Star Wars Outlaws' First Reveal Has Its Pros and Cons

Star Wars Outlaws Made a Strong First Impression

Released back in June of this year, Star Wars Outlaws' debut trailers were fairly impressive. Star Wars Outlaws' first reveal was via a cinematic trailer that appeared at Xbox's June Showcase, and it did a great job of giving fans an insight into the game's time setting, its main playable protagonist, and the overall tone that the action/adventure game was adopting. Just a day later, Star Wars Outlaws received its first gameplay overview, and it was surprisingly lengthy.

Coming in at around 10 minutes, Star Wars Outlaws' gameplay reveal trailer took fans through a bite-size smuggling adventure, following main character Kay Vess and her adorable alien sidekick Nix as they blasted their way out of a criminal den, antagonized an Imperial officer, and escaped the planet using their trusty ship, the Trailblazer. Flashy, beautiful, intense, and suitably charming, Star Wars Outlaws made a great first impression with its gameplay trailer, and that quickly made it a game worth keeping an eye on.

Star Wars Outlaws' Trailer Might Have Jumped the Gun

While a Star Wars Ubisoft game had been confirmed to be in development for a while, its eventual reveal was still pretty shocking. Normally, high-profile franchise games like this are revealed, given a logo, and left on ice for a while. It's only after a few months that fans normally receive a cinematic trailer, and then much longer before they get to see gameplay for the first time. Star Wars Outlaws was a surprising outlier.

Jumping straight to the chase, Star Wars Outlaws' one-two trailer punch left a pretty big impact on the gaming industry, at least for a little while, and it definitely got fans talking. Looking as impressive as it did, Star Wars Outlaws' first trailer was the perfect way to get fans excited about the project from the get-go. That being said, Ubisoft may have jumped the gun a little.

Currently, Star Wars Outlaws has a tentative release date of 2024, with no concrete month or day set in the calendar just yet. This means that Star Wars Outlaws could still be quite a ways off, which could lead to some confusion when it comes to marketing the game in the near future. By releasing a lengthy gameplay trailer off the bat, Ubisoft has implied that Star Wars Outlaws is quite far along in development, which in turn might have fans asking to see more very soon, which could turn into a real problem if Ubisoft isn't ready to reveal anything more for a while.