Hannan Mundia 
With Star Wars Outlaws out, fans will want to know the game’s canon status and where it takes place in the overall Star Wars timeline.
In addition to being one of the most popular and profitable IPs, Star Wars has an ever-expanding universe. With multiple canonical entries in the Star Wars universe, fans like knowing and discussing where everything takes place in the overall Star Wars timeline, and the same applies to Star Wars Outlaws.
Even though Ubisoft developed Star Wars Outlaws while EA Games’ Respawn Entertainment developed AAA Star Wars games of its own, fans want to know where it takes place in the series’ timeline. Here’s Star Wars Outlaws’ canon status and where it takes place in the series timeline.
Where does Star Wars Outlaws place in the Star Wars timeline?
Star Wars Outlaws takes place between Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi.
Recent Star Wars games frequently implement various cameos, especially when it comes to the movies. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order had one of the most iconic Darth Vader video game appearances, and Outlaws also has a handful of cameos that will surprise long-time fans.
Star Wars Outlaws also has appearances from Darth Vader that help fans determine where it places in the timeline. This gives players a broad window for when the game takes place, but Kay Vess’ encounter with Jabba the Hutt pins Star Wars Outlaws to a very specific spot in series canon. That’s because Kay comes across the iconic smuggler Han Solo, frozen in carbonite.
This particular cameo attaches the game’s story to the one-year gap between Episode 5 and Episode 6. During this time, the Empire is the dominant power in the galaxy and the war between the Rebellion and the Empire is at its peak.
Darth Vader is at the height of his powers and the first Death Star is already destroyed by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Outlaws. The Empire’s primary goal is to wipe out the Rebel Alliance, allowing the criminal underworld to go largely unnoticed and giving rise to smugglers like the game’s lead Kay Vess.
Is Star Wars Outlaws canon?
Star Wars Outlaws’ canon status is not confirmed by Disney or Ubisoft.
The only concrete information fans have is from the official FAQs where developer Massive Entertainment told players that the game “respects the source material.” Obviously, “respecting” the source material and actually being integrated into it are very different things.
After Disney acquired Lucasfilm on October 30, 2012, all non-movie media was deemed non-canon. However, games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor are considered canon because Respawn worked alongside Lucasfilm.
Massive Entertainment stated it worked alongside Lucasfilm to develop Star Wars Outlaws. It’s possible the game is canon, but this isn’t official yet. But of course, even if it was declared canonical by Disney, that doesn’t mean the company wouldn’t just change its mind later.
