Star Wars Outlaws was one of our biggest gaming surprises last year, and we can't wait to live out our Han Solo dreams again when it lands on the Nintendo Switch 2. Today, Ubisoft finally confirmed a launch date for the Star Wars Outlaws Switch 2 port: September 4.
The news came amid a slew of announcements on day one of Star Wars Celebration, the Comic-Con-esque annual blowout for all things far, far away. The port was initially announced during this month's Nintendo Switch 2 Direct among several titles from third-party American developers slated for Nintendo’s next-gen console.
Since no launch date was specified at that time, fans speculated Star Wars Outlaws could be a Switch 2 launch title alongside Mario Kart World and the like. While it won't be available right at launch on June 5, players will only have a few months to wait to get their hands on it later this year.
Major benchmark for Switch 2 performance
Alongside the announcement, Ubisoft shared a brief Star Wars Outlaws trailer that appears to show the game running on Switch 2 hardware. It's pretty short, but it looks like a significant graphical downgrade compared to the PlayStation or Xbox versions. Everything appears much flatter with the textures and fine details looking even muddier.
Granted, Star Wars Outlaws isn't the most graphically demanding game, though its sprawling open world and combat could prove to be demanding on the Switch 2's hardware. With other major third-party titles coming to the Switch 2, Star Wars Outlaws' performance on the handheld is sure to be an important benchmark for how even more technically impressive games will fare.
Star Wars Outlaws has seen a redemption arc since its underwhelming debut on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in August 2024. As fun as its expansive open-world alien planets and space-based dogfighting were, it faced criticism for glaring technical issues and lackluster gameplay. In our Star Wars Outlaws review, my colleague Ryan Epps said its stealth missions were a particular sore spot, though he still considered it "the best Star Wars-related project out there."
Several major updates as well as its first DLC, Wild Card, have gone a long way to smooth over the initial bugs and curry favor with frustrated players. If developer Massive Entertainment has learned anything from the headaches of Star Wars Outlaws' initial launch, the Switch 2 port could be the best introduction to the game yet for newcomers.
Now with fresh DLC, A Pirate's Fortune, releasing on May 15 and a Switch 2 port on the horizon, Star Wars Outlaws looks primed to get the Cyberpunk 2077 treatment. A Pirate's Fortune will introduce a fan-favorite character from "Clone Wars," the outlaw Hondo Ohnaka, who joins up with our hero Kay to find the treasure of Khepi Tomb. It'll be available as part of the Star Wars Outlaws Season Pass or can be purchased by itself.
There's no word yet on when either DLC will make its way to the Switch 2, but here's hoping it's not long after its September launch.
Check out Star Wars Outlaws for free now
In addition to the DLC and Switch 2 news, Ubisoft announced a free, three-hour demo for Star Wars Outlaws to entice new players to check it out. You can download it today from any of the digital storefronts where Star Wars Outlaws is currently playable.
Usually free demos tend to launch ahead of or alongside a new game, so it's interesting to see Ubisoft roll one out months after Star Wars Outlaws' release. It's likely a testament to how much work the team's put into improving its performance since launch.
The demo takes players through a section of the main campaign. Unfortunately, any progress you make won't be transferrable to the full game, but for players on the fence, this snippet should be enough to help them decide if they enjoy the game enough to buy it. Whether there will be a free demo for the Switch 2 as well has yet to be confirmed.
