Star Wars Outlaws: When Do Events Take Place

What started as a trilogy of science-fiction (sci-fi) films following the epic saga between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance became a global cultural phenomenon; the Star Wars franchise has revolutionized the sci-fi genre and entertainment. The franchise has since spawned three distinct film trilogies, multiple TV offerings, animated features, and other media forms; keeping track of the timeline can get difficult, especially for new audiences.

With novelizations and video games entering its canonical timeline, the next Star Wars video game, Star Wars Outlaws, looks to the more dangerous side of the galaxy far, far away, but when does this game take place? Courtesy of multiple resources available, we've briefly explained the Star Wars timeline and answered when Star Wars Outlaws takes place.

Star Wars Canon Timeline Explained

Before delving into where Star Wars Outlaws fit within the canonical timeline, we should briefly explain it and the eras throughout it. The Star Wars canon is split into nine different eras or time periods throughout the franchise's history, starting with the Dawn of the Jedi until the New Jedi Order, including the untitled Jedi Order film.

Every film and TV series that has been released occupies one of these eras, which are further expanded through novelizations, comic books, and, most notably, video games. Recording these events uses the dating system, either dated BBY (Before the Battle of Yanvin) or ABY (After the Battle of Yanvin), which gives context as to when in its timeline they happen, with some considering Episode IV: A New Hope as Year Zero.

The eras of the Star Wars canonical timeline are as follows, with notable projects featured:

• The Dawn of the Jedi (approximately 25,000 BBY)
• The Old Republic (25,000 – 1,000 BBY)
• The High Republic (500 BBY – 100 BBY)
  • The Young Jedi Adventures (series)
  • The Acolyte (series)
  • Star Wars Eclipse (video game)
• The Fall of the Jedi (100 BBY – 19 BBY)
  • Tales of the Jedi (series)
  • The Prequel Trilogy (film)
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
• The Reign of the Empire (19 BBY – 5 BBY)
  • Tales of the Empire (series)
  • Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor (video game)
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi (series)
  • Solo: A Star Wars Story (film)
  • The Bad Batch (series)
• The Age of Rebellion (5 BBY – 4 ABY)
  • Star Wars Rebels (series)
  • Andor (series)
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (film)
  • The Original Trilogy (film)
• The New Republic (5 ABY – 34 ABY)
  • The Mandalorian (series)
  • Ahsoka (series)
  • Star Wars: Battlefront II (video game)
• The Rise of the First Order (34 ABY – 35 ABY)
  • Star Wars Resistance (series)
  • The Sequel Trilogy (film)
• The New Jedi Order (50 ABY – TBD)
  • Untitled Jedi Order (film)

When Do The Events Of Star Wars Outlaws Take Place?

So when do the events of Star Wars Outlaws occur? Given what developer Massive Entertainment and publisher Ubisoft detailed in the game's FAQ page, these events occur between Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

This positions Star Wars Outlaws to take place around 3BBY during the Age of Rebellion, which occurred between 5 BBY and 4 ABY. Events that took place during the Star Wars Rebels and Andor series, plus the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story film which all happened before Star Wars Outlaws.

The game's Story trailer references events before the game's story begins, like the carbonite-frozen Han Solo, the appearance of Jabba the Hutt, the Pyke syndicate, and the game protagonist fighting against Stormtroopers. Regarding the Stormtroopers, they canonically replaced the clones around the time of A New Hope with humans, and the first indication was revealed during The Bad Batch Season 2 episode, "The Clone Conspiracy."

Naturally, this era saw the rise of the criminal underworld and also saw plenty of Bounty Hunters to make a living. As such, Kay Vess, the game's protagonist, earns her living as a scoundrel while making enemies along the way, catching the attention of the Zerek Besh syndicate and its leader, Sliro.

She'll have to escape the wrath of Sliro in a mission given to her by Jaylen by robbing Sliro to secure her freedom and life free from criminal activities. To complete this dangerous mission across the Outer Rim, she'll assemble a team of outlaws, including her loyal companion, Nix.