Star Wars Outlaws takes scoundrel Kay Vess on a planet-hopping adventure as she goes in search of one big heist that will get her out of the trouble she finds herself in. Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the Imperial forces are at the peak of their powers and naturally will serve as an enemy faction. But more integral to the Outlaws experience are the crime syndicates that Kay will encounter and the scum and villainy that comes with them. Dotted throughout the galaxy, each has its own stories to tell and – more importantly – can be used to Kay’s benefit when you see fit thanks to Outlaw’s reputation system.
“Across all of [the syndicates], there are fierce rivalries that Kay is going to have to navigate,” explains narrative director Navid Khavari. “And the player’s going to have to engage with the reputation system in order to get what she wants.”
“You’re not friends, you’re not employed, you’re not pledging allegiance, you are someone surviving and trying to grow a name [and a] reputation in this world,” adds Mathias Karlson, Outlaws’ game director. “Think of them as a little bit of a means to an end. What do they have to offer and what do I need and want right now?”. We’ve delved deeper into the gameplay impact of the reputation system (and how you can manipulate the syndicates) earlier in this month’s Star Wars Outlaws IGN First. But, who are these syndicates? We talked to members of the development team at Massive Entertainment to learn about the visual design of each and their place in the world of Star Wars Outlaws.
The Hutt Cartel
Perhaps the most well-known of the Star Wars criminal syndicates, The Hutts are led by everybody’s favourite giant slug man Jabba the Hutt. Flanked by Bib Fortuna, Salacious Crumb, and other hilariously named cronies, they first appeared in 1983’s Return of the Jedi as the crime lords of Tatooine. Straightforward and not afraid to dispatch with anyone who plays games with them, they love galactic credits and the power they bring.
“The idea with the Hutts is really what you see is what you get,” states Khavari. “They aren’t afraid to use force, they take what they want and they’re just incredibly powerful.”.
“Jabba the Hutt is a very famous character in the Star Wars galaxy and so the Hutt Syndicate is definitely inspired by [what you’ve seen before]”, explains Marthe Jonkers, associate art director at Massive.” So you will see enforcers and you’ll see characters from the movies as well, Gamorian guards for example.”
“Their look is definitely Tatooine-inspired,” Jonkers says. “I think it’s interesting to say that the Hutts have probably the most dirt and wear and tear on their clothing of all the syndicates.”
But while the Hutts are based on Tatooine, Jonkers says that “you will find them in different locations as well All the syndicates have power that goes beyond the planet where they’re from.”
Pyke Syndicate
The Pyke Syndicate will be a recognisable name to anyone who watched The Book of Boba Fett or Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, but don’t expect them to look exactly like how you remember.
“They have a very distinctive look”, says Jonkers. “They are Pykes, but they’re different from the Pykes you’ve seen in different shows. We really went in a different direction with color palettes. So they have a lot more dark blues, but also we went really into more of a graphic design for them. So you will see on the helmets and the clothing they wear, they have different patterns which will show which rank they are or which group they belong to. They’re not as organized I would say as a military group, but they do have different units that have different weapons, for example, different skills, and you will see a distinction in that.”
Through spice production and trading, the Pykes amassed a fortune from their home world of Oba Diah. But by the time of Outlaws, the syndicate finds itself spread out throughout the galaxy, including an operation on the freshly created Moon of Toshara.
“The Pike Syndicate is incredibly wealthy and powerful in this time period”, says Khavari. “And we sort of center around their underboss, Gorak, who is very much in charge of Pike operations on the moon of Toshara. And so while that is under Imperial control, just like the rest of the galaxy, we get to see the corrupt side of that because the Pykes have worked out a deal with the Empire there, where they get to do what they need to do and the Empire always gets its cut.”
Fuelled by an unrelenting desire to turn profits, no matter what moral lines may need to be crossed, the Pykes’ love of luxury and all things shiny is best demonstrated in the appearance of Gorak.
“We really wanted him to look very much like the boss,” explains Jonkers. “So he’s much bigger than the regular Pyke characters that you will meet. […] He’s definitely not the one who fights. He’s the one who tells people what to do. He has also a lot of jewelry. He’s very rich. We really wanted to tell a story just by seeing, you definitely see that Gorak is the leader.”
Crimson Dawn
As more Star Wars stories are written, the more important Crimson Dawn’s influence in the galaxy appears to grow. Led by Lady Qi’ra, Emilia Clarke’s character from Solo: A Star Wars Story, Crimson Dawn is the syndicate responsible for auctioning off Han Solo’s frozen carbonite wall decoration in the comic books – a prize won by Jabba and the Hutts, who outbid the Pyke Syndicate.
A mysterious organisation operating in the shadows of power, many of Crimson Dawn’s intentions remain shrouded when it comes to Outlaws’ story. Khavari gives us some hints, however, noting that the syndicate is “really focused on intelligence spreading” and “aligning a little bit with [the] wider network” of organised criminals.
“Crimson Dawn, especially if you look at some of the wider media, is up to something very, very interesting that I’ll leave to others to explore and dive into,” he notes. “But this period is very, very important in terms of the character Lady Qi’ra.”
The shadowy nature of the group is reflected in their visual design, allowing them to blend into any location they might find themselves in but also place their stamp when they want to make their presence known.
“You’ll be able to meet them in certain places and it’s not always necessarily a place that’s entirely theirs,” says Jonkers “Maybe they took over someplace. Now you can see certain elements of them on top of something that used to be something else”
“They’re more fashionable, I would say, compared to the other syndicates, and we try to translate that as well in their clothing,” she explains. “The clothing is very practical but very clean as well, cleaner than any of the other syndicates really to show that they have access to better materials and it’s maybe also part of their style.”
Ashiga Clan
The Ashiga Clan is a new syndicate created by Massive in collaboration with LucasFilm, and can be found on the freezing planet of Kijimi – one of five playable planets and moons in Star Wars Outlaws and last seen in The Rise of Skywalker. Although brand new when it comes to Star Wars canon, those more knowledgeable about the galaxy far, far away might be familiar with the alien species they hail from.
“They’re completely new, but we did use an existing species called the Melitto for the Ashiga clan, and there are many different aspects of them,” Jonkers explains. “They don’t have eyes, so they use different senses and that was really interesting to design a whole syndicate that doesn’t use eyesight. So all of their designs have a lot of tactile elements.
They’re based on Kijimii, so in the areas they control, you can see these lines on the floor, that’s sort of their way of navigating […] they’re feeling around almost where to go.
Their style [is] really connected to Kijimi City. We wanted to show that they’ve been there for a long time. So the city itself influenced their look as well. And as Kijimi City is heavily inspired by samurai movies and has a lot of these Japanese influences, we use these same sources of inspiration for the Ashiga Clan as well. And you will see that in their silhouettes [which] have a lot of references to samurai armor or kimono type of clothing.”
The insect-like nature of the Melitto race not only provided some interesting visual challenges for the team, but also influenced how the syndicate is structured, and what its goals include. Whereas others such as the Pykes, Hutts, and Crimson Dawn value money, power, and information as ways to grow their influence, The Ashiga Clan is much more focused on itself and its small pocket of the galaxy.
The Ashiga Clan can be found on the freezing planet of Kijimi – one of five playable planets and moons in Star Wars Outlaws
“The Ashiga Clan are really interesting because they follow this very strict hierarchical structure”, Kavari tells us. “Every single member of the clan is serving the wider group under the control of Queen Ashiga, more than any other syndicate where you might have some characters and some subordinates off to their own devices. In The Ashiga Clan, it’s serving the Queen. And that’s it. And that gave a really fascinating dynamic.”
“They have a strict code of honor,” adds Jonkers. “They’re very like a hive mind, and they have one very powerful queen who is in charge. So there are definitely references to that as well in the way they organize their locations, for example, which will remind you a little bit more of an ant hill.
The Ashiga clan is really trying to keep control over Kijimi, which is a very important city, and trying to really get their revenue through that. And they’re also a syndicate that you will maybe encounter less in different locations because they’re so connected to the city. So it’s really their power over the city that gives them their meaning.”
Zerek Besh
Sitting outside of the reputation system is the Zerek Besh, a mysterious syndicate that serves as Outlaws’ primary antagonist. Where you will be able to interact with the other four crime gangs and forge/break bonds of your choosing as the story progresses, the Zerek Besh serves more as a distant, looming threat. They are run Sliro, a man who has placed a “death mark” on Kay at the beginning of her story, forcing her to go on the run.
“It’s an incredibly wealthy organization,” says Navari about the Zerek Besh. “They have their own plans and are more of a new player to the galaxy and the syndicates. We very much wanted to treat them like they were the new player on the block. So for Kay, she’s really on the run from them, and from Sliro. They are actively hunting her down and she’s using the other syndicates to kind of get what she needs to pull off a heist that’s going to secure her freedom from them.”
A deadly group not meant to be messed with, the Zerek Besh needed an ominous appearance to match, something that Jonkers and the team have worked hard on: “I mean, they look very threatening,” she says. “That’s definitely one of the starting points for their design. We really wanted an imposing silhouette for them. We wanted them to look intimidating and they have big helmets, not to get a bigger silhouette, but [because] it creates a bit of a distance between you and them because really you don’t know who’s inside. So that was really for us, an important thing that they would feel like you need to get out of their way if you ever encounter them.”
Much about Sliro and his gang remains a mystery for now, with Massive reluctant to give away many more details about your encounters with them. We’ll learn much more about them, though, and why they’re at the core of Kay’s story when Star Wars Outlaws releases on August 30th.
Simon Cardy once got kicked out of a school assembly for calling somebody Salacious Crumb. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.
