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Long-awaited Ubisoft 'Star Wars' Game Hits Shelves

"Outlaws' is Ubisoft's first foray into the Star Wars universe. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File
"Outlaws' is Ubisoft's first foray into the Star Wars universe. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File
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Long-awaited Ubisoft 'Star Wars' Game Hits Shelves

"Outlaws' is Ubisoft's first foray into the Star Wars universe. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File
"Outlaws' is Ubisoft's first foray into the Star Wars universe. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File

After more than four years in the making, French video game designer Ubisoft on Friday released its much-anticipated "Star Wars Outlaws", an immersive spinoff from the famed saga.
The group's first foray into the universe created by George Lucas, "Outlaws" is an open-world adventure featuring Kay Vess, a young outlaw who travels the galaxy far away to pull off the heist of the century.
"This project is a childhood dream for many of us," the studio's creative director Julian Gerighty told AFP.
The game crafted by Sweden-based Massive Entertainment allows players to explore cities and space stations in a fictional planet truthful to the sci-fi epic.
While "Outlaws" is not the first Star Wars-themed game, Gerighty says his teams managed to design dense cities and ultra-realistic vessels thanks to the advent of state-of-the-art, powerful consoles.
"We created new planets, new moons, and characters that enter this universe," said Gerighty.
"Outlaws" is the product of a partnership struck with the company LucasFilms, the video game branch of the Disney-owned franchise.
Its creators were granted access to the entertainment giant's "exclusive library with all the details and design documents" of Star Wars -- the key to rendering an authentic atmosphere.
An odyssey without Jedis
Fans however should not expect Jedis -- members of the saga's mystical knightly order. Rather, "Outlaws" brings the galaxy's underworld into the spotlight.
The world features iconic characters and legendary locations, with planet Tatooine, where original hero Luke Skywalker was born, as its setting.
The "incredibly ambitious" project inserts itself between the events of the "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi", said Gerighty.
Some of the adventure's protagonists could appear in other productions, he added, as Disney in recent years has scaled up spinoffs from the franchise.
"Outlaws" will be the first Star Wars game to be developed by a publisher other than Electronic Arts (EA), since an exclusivity contract between the brand and the US firm ended in 2021.
Some gamers who were granted early access reported a few bugs, which the creators have pledged to fix.
'A plethora of adaptations'
EA since 2013 has rolled out a number of titles, from shooting multiplayer "Star Wars Battlefront" to laser sabre combat "Jedi: Fallen Order" and "Jedi Survivor".
"These games have been key successes," said Mat Piscatella, an analyst for the industry-tracking firm Circana, who says Disney terminated its deal with EA to "maximize" revenue from the franchise.
The latest Star Wars video games have all ranked among the top 10 best-sellers in the US, according to Piscatella's figures -- the likely trajectory for "Outlaws".
"There has been a plethora of adaptations" since the late 1970s, said Thibaut Claudel, the author of "Star Wars - Disney and the legacy of George Lucas".
"As an entrepreneur and an artist, George Lucas has always been interested in gaming," which explains the "insane range" of games in the early 2000s, when the second trilogy came out, said Claudel.
"It's a lot of pressure on the creators," he added, pointing out that fans with high standards dissect every fresh release.
Once the "Outlaws" frenzy dies down, connoisseurs will shift their attention to "Star Wars Eclipse", a space epic by French studios Quantic Dream, who have yet to announce a release date.

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Entertainment

Hollywood, Silicon Valley Turn out for the 'Oscars of Science'

Edward Norton arrives at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP)
Edward Norton arrives at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP)
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Hollywood, Silicon Valley Turn out for the 'Oscars of Science'

Edward Norton arrives at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP)
Edward Norton arrives at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP)

Big names from the worlds of film, technology, music and sports gathered on Saturday in Santa Monica, California for the Breakthrough Prizes, popularly known as the "Oscars of Science."

The awards, co-founded by philanthropists and tech entrepreneurs, recognize the research achievements of leading scientists around the world in three broad categories: Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics.

"These are some of the most heroic and inspiring people we get in the world," actor Edward Norton told AFP.

According to the "American History X" star, it was important to turn out and "to highlight what this kind of work contributes to all of us."

"The United States has the most anti-science administration in US history," the actor said. "It's always important, but if it was ever especially important, the moment is now."

In the last year, the Trump administration has slashed funding for science, halting projects and devastating workforces.

Rock climber Alex Honnold agreed with Norton, adding that he hoped the fluctuations "of the political climate... are short-term compared to the long-term effort required to make these kind of gains in human knowledge."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the collaboration between his company's artificial intelligence technology and some of the award-winning scientists "is moving things faster and faster, and letting them discover new things and bring them to the world faster than they could before."

"Change this fast is really disorienting. So there will be a lot of big questions that we'll have to sort through as a society," Altman told AFP.

The Breakthrough Foundation was started by Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan; science patrons Julia and Yuri Milner; and Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe.

Six prizes worth $3 million each were presented at the 12th edition of the awards.

French mathematician Frank Merle was honored for his work on nonlinear equations describing the behavior of waves, fluids and other systems.

Merle told AFP the funding is "essential" for science.

"Science is one of the foundations of our civilization," he said.

Hollywood A-listers Ben Affleck, Lily Collins, Robert Downey Jr., Gigi Hadid, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Gal Gadot, Naomi Watts and her husband, Billy Crudup, also attended the event, alongside public figures like Bill Gates and Paris Hilton.

Entertainment

From Armin Van Buuren to Mochakk, Electronic Music Dominates Coachella

A festivalgoer looks on during day two of weekend two at the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, USA, 18 April 2026. (EPA)
A festivalgoer looks on during day two of weekend two at the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, USA, 18 April 2026. (EPA)
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From Armin Van Buuren to Mochakk, Electronic Music Dominates Coachella

A festivalgoer looks on during day two of weekend two at the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, USA, 18 April 2026. (EPA)
A festivalgoer looks on during day two of weekend two at the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, USA, 18 April 2026. (EPA)

From established stalwarts like Fatboy Slim to rising artists like Australia's Ninajirachi, this year's edition of the annual Coachella music festival dedicated nearly half of its lineup to electronic musicians.

The traditionally rock-centric festival in Indio, California -- headlined this year by singers Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G -- reflects the surge in popularity of electronic music in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It's testament to the rise of electronic music, generally," Swedish DJ Adam Beyer told AFP.

"Much of it is so much more accessible. Also, there is a lot of electronic collaboration and influence in pop so it feels much more visible across the board now," he added.

Among the highlights of the festival's second weekend was the premiere of electronic musician Anyma's "ÆDEN" show on the festival's main stage, after the set was canceled the previous weekend due to high winds.

"I mean man, I love it, it's like... a rave after another, you know?" festival attendee John Good said as he left the Nine Inch Noize show, a joint act by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails and German producer Boys Noize.

The second day of the festival featured a set by Beyer with trance legend Armin van Buuren, who popularized the subgenre for a global audience.

"The term is now so broad," van Buuren told AFP, referring to electronic music.

"It's no longer just 'house music,' but even tracks by Sabrina Carpenter have some sort of electronic drums in them. I guess electronic music has spread through and had an impact on all genres of music," he said.

Beyer and van Buuren agreed that the delineation between electronic and traditional genres has faded in recent years along with listening habits.

"This younger generation doesn't really approach music through strict genre labels anymore. It's more about mood, energy and context," van Buuren noted.

The 49-year-old Dutch DJ argued the festival setting was optimized for electronic acts.

"Festivals and large-scale shows have become more immersive and experience-driven, and electronic music is built exactly for this kind of setting," he said. "It's physical, emotional and repetitive in a way that works on this larger scale."

- 'Unpredictable' -

At the Sahara tent, Coachella's stage dedicated to electronic music, the lineup featured a variety of DJs from a range of subgenres.

Among them was Brazilian DJ Mochakk, who called his Coachella debut his "biggest gig to date."

The 26-year-old's influences include Brazilian genres like MPB and Tropicalia, as well as artists like Caetano Veloso and Chico Buarque.

"Music always goes in cycles," he told AFP.

"With electronic music I think it's this mix of old and new that people connect with.

"Also how open it is, you can blend so many genres in one set, keep switching energy, keep it unpredictable," he added.

"That keeps it exciting, and I think that's probably why it's been growing so much everywhere."

- Techno-flamenco -

Another electronic music act at Coachella this year was the duo MESTIZA, consisting of Spanish artists Pitty Bernad and Belah, who brought their cultural influences -- including flamenco dancers -- to the stage.

"Electric music has something very special, and that's why it's understood all over the world," Belah said.

The genre, she added, "has no borders."

"For a long time it was hard to find places where we could go to listen to electronic music," said Pitty, adding that "it has evolved in a dramatic way."

"Giving rise, for example, to this Coachella lineup," she said.

Entertainment

Spielberg Teases New Alien Film 'Disclosure Day' as 'More Truth Than Fiction'

FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo
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Spielberg Teases New Alien Film 'Disclosure Day' as 'More Truth Than Fiction'

FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Steven Spielberg, winner of the MPA America250 Award, speaks during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of Cinema United, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo

Steven Spielberg described his 1977 UFO film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as his own "speculation" about intelligent life on other planets.

His new alien movie, "Disclosure Day," will offer what Spielberg believes is "more truth than fiction," the veteran filmmaker told theater operators on Wednesday at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas.

The maker of "E.T." and 2005's "War of the Worlds" said he decided to journey back into the extraterrestrial realm after reading a 2017 ⁠New York Times ⁠report about US military pilots who reported seeing mysterious flying objects.

"I really, truly believe this movie is going to answer questions," Spielberg said of "Disclosure Day.And this movie is also going to cause you to ask a lot of questions."

"All you need to get from the beginning ⁠to the end is a seat belt," he teased, without elaborating on the plot.

Footage shown to the CinemaCon crowd gave a brief glimpse of an alien leaning over a human child. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo and Colin Firth.

"Disclosure Day" will be released by Universal Pictures in June, Reuters reported.

Universal also brought out another acclaimed director, Christopher Nolan, to promote his upcoming film "The Odyssey." The movie, set to debut in July, is based on Homer's epic ⁠about a Greek ⁠king trying to return home after the Trojan War.

"The Odyssey is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years," he said. "It is not a story. It's the story."

The "Oppenheimer" director said "The Odyssey" was "an absolute nightmare to film, but in all the right ways."

Star Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, endured rough conditions throughout the project, Nolan said.

"He was just there, out there on the boats, up in the mountains, in the caves, in beating sunshine, in sideways rain, wind," he said.

"It's meant to be difficult. That's the nature of the story."