The second Star Wars Outlaws expansion pack, titled A Pirate’s Fortune, is out today and will have its hustler protagonist Kay Vess joining lovable rogue pirate Hondo Ohnaka. But Kay’s latest adventure won’t be the only reason to return to the open-world game. Developer Massive Entertainment has released another big title update alongside the expansion, adding some significant, widely requested features to the base game.
Outlaws Title Update 1.6 is available to download right now and adds some significant quality-of-life features, some new mechanics for the game’s space traversal, and at long last, the ability to defend yourself while driving your speed across the game’s planets.
The first new feature is the ability to swap between Kay’s trusty blaster and the two-handed weapons that she picks up from enemies. While this may seem like a fairly basic feature, it was only after a November update that Kay could carry enemy weapons with her after firefights. Giving her the ability to use these weapons interchangeably finally makes its combat as standard as most other games in its genre.
Additionally, Kay finally can fire her blaster while riding her speeder. This has been a sorely missing feature since launch, one that made fleeing open conflict more stale than it should be. Before, players had to simply outrun enemies, or use the cooldown ability Adrenaline Rush to take them out up to three enemies at a time. Giving Kay some active combat options while speeding to her next destination should lend speeder chases with the Empire the depth it sorely needed.
The new update also adds a new gameplay element to cruising in the Trailblazer. Kay’s spaceship now has a customizable slot for passive abilities, “which offer a variety of gameplay effects” and gives players new “ways to fine-tune your strategy during space missions.” These upgrades can be bought from normal vendors and a new faction added in the new expansion.
On top of the three new gameplay elements, the update is adding a bunch of bug fixes, animation improvements, and new space contracts for players who’ve completed the main game’s content and are looking for some more missions to take on. Lastly, everyone playing Outlaws will get a free cosmetic pack based on the Disney Plus series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
It’s been a long road for Star Wars Outlaws. The first open-world game set in the robust popular sci-fi universe was released last August to good-not-great reviews, due to general bugginess and some inexplicably missing features. While it did have some redeeming qualities, like a gorgeous open world and fun story, it missed the mark for its publisher. Ubisoft ended up delaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025 to further polish the experience and add new features, all to avoid making the same mistakes it made with Outlaws.
What has been reassuring is how much Massive has stuck with improving the game alongside its content drops. The developer has a deep history of updating its titles with game-changing features after launch, something that likely stems from continued work on its popular live service game The Division. Later this year, the developer plans to release this more finalized version of the game on Nintendo’s Switch 2.
Title Update 1.6 is available to download right now for everyone. The game’s new expansion is available to season pass owners and is only accessible if you’ve completed the game’s main story.
