Will Star Wars: Outlaws tie in to the War of the Bounty Hunters comic arc?

The premiere of the trailer for the video game Star Wars: Outlaws showcased many revelations, including the appearance of criminal organizations like the Pykes, Crimson Dawn, and the Hutts conspiring with a new criminal organization called Zerek Besh led by a man named Sliro to get rich during the Galactic Empire’s war against the Alliance to Restore the Republic. 

Outlaws takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi which is also around the same time as the comic book event The War of the Bounty Hunters. This begs the question: Will the video game tie into the comic event written by author Charles Soule? There are several hints from the Outlaws trailer to show it's possible.

In the trailer, the protagonist, Kay Vess, encounters Han Solo in carbonite. In the War of the Bounty Hunters, Qi’ra, a former lover of Solo, stole the smuggler from Boba Fett and held an auction between many of the galaxy’s powerful factions. The Rebel Alliance, the Empire, the Hutts, and other organizations bid to get their hands on Solo. This resulted in Jabba placing a bounty on Boba. 

In addition to this, several bounty hunters were involved: 4-LOM, Zuckuss, IG-88, Dengar, Beilert Valance, and many others. They battled each other over who would claim Solo and the hefty bounty on Fett. However, Boba would ultimately reclaim Solo, successfully deliver him to Jabba the Hutt, and have the bounty on him absolved. 

Furthermore, The War of the Bounty Hunters that Qi’ra started caused the near annihilation of the Hutt Clans at the hands of Darth Vader when Bokku the Hutt defiantly attacked the Empire over the planet Jakara. This would weaken the relationship between the Hutts and the Empire, which Qi’ra saw as an advantage and most likely would play a role in Sliro trying to gain power in the criminal underworld. 

Since the trailer did show Vail, a bounty hunter hired by Sliro going after Kay, one has to wonder if the aforementioned bounty hunters will show up. It seemed that Vail was struggling to find and capture Kay. And with that, would Shiro or the other criminal organizations hire 4-LOM, Zuckuss, Valance, IG-88, Dengar, or perhaps Boba Fett to go after Kay, who is trying to buy her freedom by trying to steal Sliro's fortune? 

Players can find out if Kay encounters some familiar bounty hunters when the latest Star Wars video game, Star Wars: Outlaws, comes out on August 30, 2024.