Big Star Wars Outlaws patch fixes a long list of launch issues

Ubisoft rolled out a massive update for Star Wars Outlaws on Thursday, addressing a long list of complaints about the open-world Star Wars game as the first step in its previously announced roadmap to improve the game. If you haven’t finished Star Wars Outlaws yet — maybe because you were annoyed by the game’s wonky stealth and speeder mechanics — this patch might just be for you.

Update 1.2 for Star Wars Outlaws tweaks the stealth experience “by adjusting AI detection, the number of NPCs and their positioning, patrol pathing, camera detection and highlighting environmental opportunities to reduce player friction,” according to Ubisoft’s patch notes. Kay Vess is also less likely to be detected when using cover.

Kay’s speeder should also be much more enjoyable to ride. Ubisoft says the update improves the position of the speeder camera, improves the speeder’s response and reaction when summoned, and improves collision detection with the environment “to reduce being knocked off the speeder.” In other words, small rocks have been nerfed.

The rest of the game’s patch notes lay out a long list of much-needed improvements for Star Wars Outlaws, including squashing some game-breaking and just plain annoying bugs. There are also some presentation adjustments, like updated animations after takedowns and an updated melee animation after Kay punches an enemy wearing a helmet.

Star Wars Outlaws was criticized at launch for bugs and performance issues. Additional updates, including one that promises quality-of-life updates, are planned for Oct. 24 and Nov. 21. Ubisoft is also bringing Star Wars Outlaws to Steam on Nov. 21, and promises more updates to the game’s stealth mechanics on that date.

We called out Star Wars Outlaws’ issues with stealth gameplay in our review, saying that “the array of tools at Kay’s disposal is simply too limited.”

“Far too many stealth missions involve a ‘don’t get caught’ or ‘don’t let the alarm get raised’ fail state that, due to your lack of tools, is annoyingly easy to trip by accident,” critic Todd Harper wrote in the review.

Star Wars Outlaws’ technical and gameplay issues contributed to “softer than expected” reception for the game, according to Ubisoft. In the wake of Outlaws’ cool critical and commercial reception, Ubisoft delayed another of its open-world games, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, in an effort to further polish that title before its release.

Star Wars Outlaws is available now on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.