Kay Vess chooses the most turbulent era of the Star Wars canon to seek her fortune in the galaxy.
The Star Wars universe now spans hundreds of years – even in the new Disney canon, which basically started from scratch in 2015. There is the era of the High Republic centuries before Episode 1, then of course the original trilogy, the prequels and the controversial sequel era of Kylo Ren and co. And all of this is unfolded in detail in dozens of books, comics, games and TV series.
No wonder many people ask themselves: When exactly does Star Wars Outlaws take place? Yes, in Ubisoft’s brand new open world, stormtroopers run around and the Empire annoys innocent civilians, so there are rough clues as to when the story takes place. But we will help you with the exact dating!
When does Star Wars Outlaws play roughly?
Star Wars Outlaws plays between Star Wars – Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi (1983)i.e. after the Battle of Hoth, but before the destruction of the Second Death Star – and thus in the middle of the Galactic Civil War between Rebels and Imperials.
There is exactly one year between episodes 5 and 6, so the time period is much shorter than between episodes 4 and 5 (three years). A few key facts as a refresher:
- Luke Skywalker just dueled Darth Vader on Bespin and lost his hand.
- Han Solo was packed in carbonite and is rotting away in Jabba’s palace.
- Lando Calrissian and Chewie are looking for Han Solo.
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Star Wars Outlaws: The first 20 minutes of the campaign
So we’re talking about the final phase of the galactic empire, even if the villains have no idea about it. Darth Vader and the Emperor have their hands full trying to contain the burgeoning rebellion everywhere, and the war seems anything but lost for the dark side, even though the insurgents keep slipping through their fingers.
And it is precisely in this chaotic era that Star Wars Outlaws takes place. But in the new Disney canon, the time can be dated even more precisely, because in the comics there is an event that is extremely important for Outlaws: the Syndicate Wars.
What are the Syndicate Wars?
Many fans will recognize the head of the Crimson Dawn faction in Outlaws: Qi’ra already appeared in the 2018 Han Solo prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story, back then as Han Solo’s childhood friend and later henchman of gangster Dryden Vos. Outlaws takes place many years after Solo, but Qi’ra is quite involved as the new head of Crimson Dawn.
Between episodes 5 and 6, she triggers a whole war. Qi’ra secretly wants to overthrow the Sith – specifically her colleagues Vader and Sidious – and what’s the best way to do that these days? That’s right, through fake news.
In Solo, Qi’ra still acts as a henchman of Crimson Dawn.
Qi’ra spreads the rumor throughout the galaxy that the Empire is fed up with the Hutts and is looking for a new big player to establish exclusive deals between the crime syndicate and the Empire.
But only the strongest syndicate has a chance at the crown, so theThe so-called Syndicate Wars which in turn, of course, massively destabilizes the empire. The Pykes, Hutts, Crimson Dawn, Ashiga and co. are all shooting at each other – and here you can see: Outlaws takes place during exactly this time.
The Empire is doing everything it can to end this unfortunate Syndicate War – and that has a direct impact on the story of Outlaws, without us wanting to give too much away.
Outside of the Outlaws story, Qi’ra’s secret plot culminates in a gigantic showdown between Crimson Dawn and the Empire. The Syndicate is completely destroyed, but the rebels at least learn of the existence of the Second Death Star. And so Qi’ra’s plan to destroy the Sith is finally fulfilled.
