How Neatly-known particular person Wars Outlaws’ poker-fashion mini-sport helped to account for its tone

Large-scale inaugural world games provide players alternative tactics and the liberty to interact with the environment as they observe gameplay. Mini-games are a common feature that helps players immerse themselves in the universe and relax. These types of activities offer standalone enjoyment, but for titles like Star Wars Outlaws, they are designed to enrich the ambiance of the game’s smuggler fantasy.

At GDC 2025, Ubisoft Paris game designer Jean-Baptiste Siraudin took some time to detail the development of Sabacc, the Star Wars universe’s version of poker. During the panel, Siraudin explained precisely what went into crafting the ruleset behind Outlaws‘ adaptation of Sabacc and how real-world playtesting and exploration of Star Wars lore contributed to refining their approach to a mini-game focused on diegetic storytelling.

Sleight of Hand

As one of the central mini-games featured in Star Wars Outlaws, Sabacc offers players the chance to delve into the gritty, high-stakes world of gambling alongside various rogues to earn credits and fame. Sabacc has made notable appearances in live-action Star Wars media such as Solo: A Star Wars Story and The Mandalorian, but Star Wars Outlaws provides the most fleshed-out and immersive opportunity to engage.

According to the designer behind the Sabacc mini-game, Star Wars Outlaws introduced a new variation known as Kessel Sabacc, featuring an alternative ruleset and an easier adaptation of the Star Wars universe’s classic game.

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“The exciting aspect [about Kessel Sabacc] is that we didn’t need to start from scratch; the game has a long-standing legacy present in various media, and there’s Pazaak in[[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic], which is somewhat related,” said the game designer. “But we also had visual references from films and shows like in Solo: A Star Wars Story. We also drew inspiration from simple games like Blackjack and dice games such as 421 and Yahtzee. Essentially, we created simple games of chance where players still have to make micro-strategic decisions.”

Prototyping this version of Sabacc before introducing it into Outlaws took time, but they discovered much of the groundwork came from outside the game: around a standard table. Siraudin mentioned that through developing Kessel Sabacc, the team repurposed regular playing cards and adjusted their rules on the fly to narrow down their game version.

“The advantage of designing a card game is that it’s incredibly easy to prototype; you can do it using just standard cards, so all those rules and decisions were made with that kind of setup, allowing our iterations to be really swift,” he remarked. “We playtested each version and adjusted the rules in real-time, because it was like, ‘Okay, this isn’t working, let’s change that.’ We selected the version we felt confident in regarding the ruleset’s inherent fun and simplicity, although it still lacked depth and strategy. We introduced shift tokens, which are action cards, reminiscent of the earlier ruleset that included a similar shift mechanic.”

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Living that Scoundrel Life

Once the core mechanics of Kessel Sabacc were finalized, the developers shifted their focus to developing the various aspects and experience—which was about making players feel like a true scoundrel. The team’s approach to presenting Kessel Sabacc within the game world was to use diegetic storytelling and presentation to fully immerse players in the environment and set the right mood.

As the designer explained during the panel, “We want Sabacc to be part of the underworld, and particularly fit that theme, which for us involved various levels of discoverability.”

When playing Kessel Sabacc in Star Wars Outlaws, protagonist Kay and her companion Nix join a table and compete against various players—within the game world rather than transporting players to a separate screen or isolated space. This provides a cinematic feel to the mini-game and makes players aware of the other participants and their cards, as deception and bluffing are crucial aspects of the game. Players can also rely on their partner to sneak around the table to peek at the cards of opposing players—at the risk of being spotted and subsequently placed under suspicion for the remainder of the round.

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Given the nature of Kessel Sabacc and the scoundrel theme, it was quite fitting to discover that the developers also played a trick on players when presenting the game. According to Siraudin, Kessel Sabacc operates as a 2D game, with a UI overlaying the animated visuals of the rogues sitting at their table—all aimed at enhancing clarity and immersion for the mini-game.

“We knew that ultimately, it would benefit us [to quicken the pace] because players would be more inclined to engage with this activity,” Siraudin stated. “We discussed the game, but now it’s time to reveal the truth because Sabacc is indeed a 2D game. Why do I say that? Because all of the gameplay and interactions you observe in the game occur on the UI layer, on top of everything else. I’ve often remarked that Sabacc is truly