Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft
Topics: Star Wars, Film and TV, Gaming, Technology
Katherine Sidnell
Despite the trailer dropping mere hours ago, Star Wars Outlaws has already angered fans.
The highly anticipated open-world game is due for release in 2024, with players able to complete various missions and explore new worlds in a galaxy far far away for the first time.
However, some die-hard fans have been enraged by the trailer for a very petty reason.
It's after Star Wars Outlaws decided to have a woman of colour as their lead characters, with the main story centring around Kay Vess – one of the Empire’s most wanted.
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Taking place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the game is expected to have some incredible cameo from the original trilogy too.
With adorable sidekicks in the form of Vix and droid ND-5, there’s a lot for fans to look forward to as they countdown to next year’s release.
However, some fans are pretty unhappy with Ubisoft’s choice of main character, despite happily accepting lightsabers and the use of force in the franchise.
Whilst sexism in gaming is nothing new, there has been some misogynistic backlash on Twitter after the trailer debuted during Ubisoft Forward yesterday.
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Following the gaming event, one gamer said that they felt ‘forced’ to play as a girl – despite there being a male lead in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which was released earlier this year.
“I was looking forward to Fable and Star Wars Outlaws until they boxed us in. Forcing guys to be girls in an age where you can just plug in the option of choosing a character is idiotic,” they pointedly wrote: “They just love capping their success by introducing failure.”
Sadly, it wasn't long before other similarly sexist posts appeared on the platform – many of which targeted Kay’s appearance in the game.
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“Another video game goes down the path of having weirdly unattractive female protagonists, like this 1980s dorky looking Han Solo female stand-in for Star Wars Outlaws with a feminist haircut,” a tweet read, “They couldn’t even bother to develop something original.”
Whilst it’s a small proportion of Star Wars fans who are reacting like this, some have called for Ubisoft to change the character or have said they will boycott the release.
“Star Wars outlaws looks like a dream game of mine but it has Reddit tier dialogue and a female protagonist, pass!” wrote another annoyed gamer.
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However some fans have been hitting back at the criticism and sharing how excited they are for the open world adventure.
“Apparently there are a few 'fans' complaining about Star Wars: Outlaws having a female protagonist. Seriously, y'all need help,” gushed an excited fan.
”I for one don't care if I play as a male, female, alien, droid, or whatever other person or species from a Galaxy far, far away. I'm gonna enjoy it.”
Here’s hoping that this fandom menace doesn’t ruin the release for other fans.