Fans have been wondering whether Star Wars Outlaws is canon, as well as its exact place in the vast world of the Star Wars lore.

Star Wars Outlaws was just released last week after years of anticipation. It’s the first truly open-world game set in the Star Wars universe, and players take on the role of Kay Vess, a smuggler who is navigating the galaxy’s dangerous criminal underworld.

There’s plenty of planets and locations to explore, and multiple factions to deal with as part of a major gameplay mechanic. Some fans might be wondering where Star Wars Outlaws fits in the timeline of the franchise and where it’s canon, as it’s not clearly stated in the first few hours of the game.

Star Wars Outlaws and Its Place in the Timeline

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Star Wars Outlaws is a canon story that takes place between two major movies in the original trilogy of Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

At this point, the galaxy is still dealing with the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star from Episode IV: A New Hope. The Empire, despite that loss, is at the height of its power and stronger than ever before, as you’ll soon see and find out in the game.

They are still actively hunting down rebels and any other threats as they want to prevent another disaster like the Death Star from happening again (Spoilers: It happens again).

The Empire’s strength is shown through the game’s Wanted system, where players can see just how determined they are to eliminate their enemies. It’s similar to the mechanic in GTA games, although not as good and not as aggressive, unfortunately.

The Rebel Alliance is still around, but it’s more of a background force in the game and doesn’t do much as they prepare for the events that lead up to Return of the Jedi. The game aims to show a different side of the galaxy, like with Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.

The Hutts, particularly Jabba the Hutt, also have a strong presence in this game, along with other factions like The Pykes, Crimson Dawn, and the Ashiga Clan, which is a brand new faction created just for this game.

The Importance of the Timeline for Star Wars Outlaws

The game has plenty of characters from the original trilogy, including Lando Calrissian. Image via Ubisoft

The events of Star Wars Outlaws happen during the year 3 ABY specifically. This is the same year as The Empire Strikes Back, which means the galaxy is deep into the ongoing war between the Empire and the Rebellion.

With this war raging on, many crime syndicates are taking advantage of the chaos to grow their influence, and this is a big theme of the game as you’ll interact with many of them via the factions system.

The Jedi, meanwhile, aren’t a significant part of the story in Outlaws. This is fine, as the previous two Star Wars: Jedi Games successfully showed that side of the franchise in video game form.

There are some Force users like Luke Skywalker and Yoda still alive at this point, but they’re mostly in hiding. The game’s story is more focused on the criminal underworld and the struggle between factions rather than the battle between Jedi and Sith, like with most other Star Wars games such as Knights of the Old Republic and Jedi Knight series.

While Outlaws allows for choices that affect your reputation and relationships with these different crime syndicates, it’s important to remember that there’s only one canon ending for the game, irrespective of your choices, which might be a bummer for some.

Have you tried out Star Wars Outlaws yet, and what do you think of it? Let us know in the comments!