The Birth of Star Wars Outlaws: A Conversation with Julian Gerighty

In 2018, at the E3 conference, Julian Gerighty was preparing to showcase The Division 2. Meanwhile, his boss, David Polfeldt, was discussing a potential collaboration with Disney in a nearby café. This chance meeting marked the beginning of Star Wars Outlaws. Gerighty recalls that Disney had a shortlist of developers they wanted to work with, and Ubisoft Massive was one of them. Although the team wasn't sure which Disney property they would be working on, they were enthusiastic about the opportunity. As it turned out, they would be developing a Star Wars game, a dream come true for many of them. The project began with a focus on the original trilogy, specifically the period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. This setting allowed the team to create a new story with familiar characters, such as Qi'ra, Jabba the Hutt, and Lando. To achieve a 1970s Star Wars look, the team developed a custom camera lens for their game engine, which replicated the cinematic lenses of the time. They also worked closely with Lucasfilm Games to ensure that the game stayed true to the original trilogy's spirit. The team's approach to game development was influenced by their passion for building immersive worlds and their desire to create a unique gaming experience. According to Gerighty, the key to success lies in giving players the freedom to make choices and shape their own stories. With Star Wars Outlaws, the team aimed to deliver a cinematic experience that would transport players to a galaxy far, far away. The game has now gone gold, and the team is eager to share it with the world. As Gerighty puts it, "There is pressure to deliver a really good game every time we ship, but seeing as this is a childhood dream come true for a lot of us, there is this added pressure of 'you can't mess this one up'."