Star Wars Outlaws is a gorgeous game with screenshots that look straight out of a movie, and the black bars are a large reason why. Outlaws forces a 21:9 aspect ratio with black bars by default, but you can thankfully get rid of them and play with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio that fills your entire TV or monitor.
How to get rid of 21:9 black bars in Star Wars Outlaws
If you want to remove the black bars at the top and bottom of your screen in Star Wars Outlaws and make the game fill your entire screen, just open the settings menu and navigate to thedisplay and graphicssection. There, you’ll find a setting called “cinematic display mode.” It’s here that you need to tweak a few things to getthe best PC settings, too.
This defaults to 21:9 on all platforms, but you can change it to “fill screen” if you want the black bars gone. You can swap back and forth at any time, but this setting only affects gameplay.Cutscenes will always have black barsno matter what you choose.
If you’re worried about framerate, then you’ll be pleased to know that there isno performance hit for removing the black barsand playing Star Wars Outlaws with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. Whether you’ve chosenquality or performance mode, the game will play exactly the same regardless of your cinematic display mode setting.
While the 21:9 aspect ratio is a nice touch on paper, it’s a tad disappointing in practice. UnlikeDeath Stranding Director’s Cut— which also features a 21:9 widescreen mode on PlayStation 5 —Star Wars Outlaws does not widen your field of viewto show more of the landscape when the cinematic display setting is enabled. Instead, itjust crops the 16:9 image with black bars, which can make things feel a bit claustrophobic.
It’s still a nice effect that makes the game look even more breathtaking, though, so we recommend swapping back and forth between the 21:9 and fill screen settings based on your mood. A full screen is great for shootouts at Imperial outposts, while black bars make shady jobs forthe galaxy’s most dangerous crime syndicatesall the more exciting.
Diego Perez
Currently serving as a Senior Staff Writer at PC Invasion, Diego Perez has been writing about video games since 2018, specializing in live service games like Destiny and Final Fantasy XIV. His work is featured at publications like Game Rant and Attack of the Fanboy (where he served as Associate Editor), but PC Invasion is home to his best work. When he’s planning content or writing guides, he’s yelling about Ape Escape or grinding Lost Sectors in Destiny. Plus, he has a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication Media Studies for Texas A&M University.
