Who is Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws?

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Players take on the role of up-and-coming scoundrel Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws Kay Vess leaning in nightclub
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Star Wars Outlaws Kay Vess is the game’s main protagonist. She’s an original scoundrel and you become her just when she’s thinking of embarking on the life of an outlaw. Crafted by Ubisoft, Kay is cunning and capable, and has a cute pet called Nix who you get to control, but this knowledge of Kay alone won't get you far in the merciless world of Star Wars Outlaws. Kay, and you, have a lot to learn if you’re going to make a name for yourself amongst the various criminal syndicates in the galaxy, plus survive the carnage of the galactic war. Here's everything you need to know about who Kay Vess is in Star Wars Outlaws.

Star Wars Outlaws main character explained

Star Wars Outlaws Kay Vess leaning on bar

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

In Star Wars Outlaws, you play as Kay Vess, a young woman and thief who dreams of escaping her dangerous life to live free in the galaxy. Humberly González, who you may know from TV shows like Ginny and Georgia, Nurses, and In The Dark, provides the voice and performance for Kay. She even did some voice work on Ubisoft's previous titles Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Far Cry 6.

Kay is from Canto Bight on Cantonica, which you might recognize as the casino planet in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, though When Star Wars Outlaws takes place means we're visiting the location much earlier in the Star Wars timeline -  between Episodes V and VI. Specifically, she's from the Worker's District of Canto Bight, which is far removed from the opulence of the main city.

Star Wars Outlaws young Kay Vess running into police

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

To survive in the downtrodden district, Kay's mother, Riko Vess, taught her the basics of petty crime, helping Kay to become a talented thief and adept at Star Wars Outlaws lockpicking and slicing. At some point during her childhood, Kay happened across a merqaal creature who she took in as a pet and called Nix, and he is a major asset in her criminal undertakings, helping her distract and steal from her targets.

However, prior to the start of Star Wars Outlaws, Riko abandoned Kay on Cantonica, leaving her to fend for herself. With little to her name and not many marks left to swindle in the Worker's District, Kay lives job-to-job, renting a small loft room in the Broken Hoof bar. Bram Shano, the bar's owner, has been looking after Kay for years, providing free food and helping her pick up illicit work around the city. Bram is also the first Star Wars Outlaws Expert Kay unlocks and helps her to learn the Star Wars Outlaws Fast Talk ability.

Star Wars Outlaws Kay Vess looking out over Canto Bight

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

With no crew to rely on and barely any Star Wars Outlaws credits to her name, Kay is becoming increasingly desperate when the game begins. This desperation and her relative naivety to the cutthroat nature of the Outer Rim's criminal underworld means she's really quite in over her head. And so, the game kicks off with her tussling with the Worker District's local gang, the Sixth Kin, before things escalate, leading to her crossing the leader of the dominant Zerek Besh syndicate, and eventually the likes of the Pyke Syndicate, Hutt Cartel, and the Empire.

In our Star Wars Outlaws review, we praised González's portrayal of Kay, and you can also see how Outlaws stacks up in our list of the best Star Wars games.

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Will Sawyer
Will Sawyer
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.

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