‘Out here, you live and die by your reputation’: organised crime and dark capital in Star Wars: Outlaws

This paper examines the video game Star Wars: Outlaws (2024), exploring its portrayal of organised crime and associated forms of capital. The game follows Kay Vess, a young street thief seeking a fresh start, whose journey is shaped by an in-game reputation system that enhances gameplay immersion and deepens narrative complexity. Analysing data from 53 dedicated gameplay sessions, this paper explores Kay’s transition from emergence and survival to ascent, agency, and autonomy in the underworld. Critically assessing the extent to which the game encourages the accumulation and deployment of street capital and criminal capital, the paper introduces the concept of dark capital as a lens for understanding organised crime. It concludes by exploring the potential contribution of dark capital to the policing of organised crime.