Everything 'Star Wars Outlaws' Players Could Want to Know About Nix (EXCLUSIVE)

The upcoming Star Wars Outlaws is marketed as the first open-world game set in the Star Wars universe, giving players more free reign to explore the galaxy as they unravel a story not centered on the Jedi who usually take the spotlight in new franchise installments. The game follows scoundrel Kay Vess on her heist that spans across the galaxy, her trusty companion Nix at her side.

Ahead of the game's launch, Massive Entertainment invited Distractify to tour the studio and speak with the developers about the upcoming game — and we have all the details on the lovable axolotl-looking companion who's already gone viral.

The developers shared some of the real-life creatures that inspired the companion's design and movement — and funny videos of raccoons were a big source of inspiration when trying to decide how he should move.

"All of it did have a function," Associate Art Director Marthe Jonkers said of the art team's sources of inspiration. Each real-life creature needed to serve some function in Nix's overall design. "We looked at different creatures like pangolins to get the inspiration there. There's also a bit of a reptile side to Nix as well, like his tail and the scales on his feet ... So the inspirations were really driven by what we needed Nix to be."

His eyes, specifically, were a piece of his design the creators paid close attention to during the concept phase.

"His eyes are very much inspired by birds. We wanted him to be able to look very closely at things but at the same time, his pupils are quite big," Marthe said. "If you make them smaller, yeah, he's very expressive. But he also becomes very human. And that's something we didn't want to have. So we made the pupils quite big so he still looks like an animal. "

Star Wars Outlaws features an entire cast of actors and voice actors to bring the tale to life, and Nix's various sounds were crafted by none other than the famed Dee Bradley Baker. As a voice actor, Dee has voiced iconic characters like Perry the Platypus, Daffy Duck, and various other characters across big franchises like SpongeBob SquarePants and American Dad! Nix is just one small addition to almost 700 voice-acting credits in Dee's arsenal.

During the gameplay demo, Nix acted as an extension of Kay, being able to pick up items, distract enemies, and wreak havoc while Kay remained on the sidelines. Not only is he an adorable companion and the crack in Kay's rough outer shell, but his design was made with his functionality as a video game companion in mind.

"So we really wanted to design something so that he could be able to grab weapons, bring them back to Kay, or maybe steal some credits from someone or push a button somewhere," Marthe said.

"Nix can almost do everything that you can, but he doesn't have the gadgets to do it," Benedikt Podlesnigg (the Art and World Director at Massive Entertainment) said. "So he doesn't wield a blaster, for example. But you know, if there's a button, you can press the button. If the button is out of your reach, maybe Nix can reach it."

Though players will take the reins as Kay, the developers said they thought of Nix more as another controllable character than just her sidekick. They also emphasized that he's much more than a cute addition to the scoundrel trio.

Though Nix is a very prominent new addition to the world of Star Wars with this new game, he's not the only new addition to the franchise's wildlife players will see as they play. As explained by Marthe, many of the planets players will explore throughout the game have original wildlife never before seen in the universe, which means they have much more reason to take their time when combing through the open-world title.

"We actually created a lot of new wildlife on the planets as well. You will see a lot of new creatures that roam around," Marthe said.

Toshara, specifically, will have plenty of new content for players to uncover, especially as it's a planet entirely original to the game. While the other planets players will traverse through have had their appearances in other Star Wars media, Outlaws will offer fans the first opportunity to freely explore them.

Just as players will find clothing items and other ways to customize and upgrade Kay, Nix will also have various accessories and gear items he can be equipped with to enhance his skills (or just make him look cuter). The companion creature is more than just a cute addition to a unique gameplay experience — he's really a secondary main character.

Star Wars Outlaws will be released on Aug. 30 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.