Star Wars Outlaws, will feature at least five planets, the size of which was discussed by the developers recently in a chat with IGN. The planets are Tatooine, a Toshara moon, Akiva, Kijimi, and Cantonica. The game’s creative director, Julian Gerighty, has revealed that three of these planets – Tatooine, Toshara, and Akiva – are similar in size and can be traversed in about 4-5 minutes using a speeder. To get a sense of what that means in context the planets’ sizes are comparable to two or three zones in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, with Tatooine potentially being slightly larger. Gerighty emphasized that while 4-5 minutes might not seem long, it represents a significant commitment in gameplay, as players will likely be distracted by various activities along the way. We can only assume there are sights to see and points of interest to discover.

Promisingly Ubisoft says it is focusing on quality over quantity in designing these planets, aiming to create engaging and diverse environments rather than simply making them large for the sake of size.

Our concern is that, for all the promise of a truly open world Star Wars game, all of the game play scenarios shown off so far have seemed very on rails, with clear markers and hints for players as to the golden path or action to take. And where travel has been shown off it appears to be along set paths rather than Kay vernturing off in to the wilds to see what trouble she can find. We put this down to the nature of game play reveals, or previews, needing to show off exactly the intended gameplay, but the news of the size of the maps has us wondering if that wasnt the only reason. The world of Outlaws may be open, but how large is it, and how much is there to see?

Star Wars Outlaws is scheduled for release on August 27, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. The game is set between Episodes 5 and 6 of the Star Wars saga and follows the adventures of Kay Vess, her droid ND-5, and her companion Nix.

Multiple editions will be available, including a Standard Edition ($70), a Gold Edition ($110) with early access and a Season Pass, and a digital-only Ultimate Edition with additional cosmetic items and a digital art book