Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit, developed by Epic Games, allows Disney park visitors to continue taking jobs from Hondo Ohnaka in Fortnite after leaving Disneyland. This new experience transforms the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride into a cooperative PvE adventure featuring missions, classes, and weapon upgrades. According to an IGN hands-on preview, the experience launches on August 16.
The connection between the game and the theme park works both ways. Players can scan a QR code in the game to link their Epic Games and MyDisney accounts, unlocking a special experience on Smugglers Run at Disney’s theme parks. While the exact details of this park-side addition remain undisclosed, it promises to extend the ride’s story beyond the queue.
Ord Ryla Turns a Ride Premise into a Co-op Mission Board
Smuggler’s Gambit begins on Ord Ryla, where the grounded ship Scuttled Sparrow serves as a hub. Hondo, voiced by Jim Cummings, is present alongside three factions, vendors, and a dock where crews board ships for missions.
Players on a server vote on missions before setting out together. The gameplay will feel familiar to Fortnite players: follow waypoints, complete main and optional objectives, track allies on the HUD, and fight your way back when challenges arise.
Missions include.
- The Imperial Patrol: a straightforward fight against Imperial forces.
- The Pirate Raid: crews battle Rathtar Raiders.
- The Pirate Hunt: destroy Rathtar Raider supply caches and defeat their leaders.
- The Heist: break into a maximum-security Imperial vault.
- The Reverse Robbery: recover stolen cargo.
Stormtroopers aren’t the only threat. Ord Ryla’s aggressive wildlife attacks anyone nearby, including Imperial enemies, creating distractions that players can use to their advantage.
Pilot, Gunner, and Engineer Each Bring a Useful Trick
The three classes reflect the roles from Smugglers Run but have distinct combat abilities. Pilots regenerate stamina faster and can scan for nearby enemies; Gunners deploy a droid to attack hardened targets or groups; Engineers can place a dome shield and restore team shields.
These roles become crucial at higher difficulty levels, where stormtroopers wield heavier weapons like plasma cutters and grenade launchers. Characters level up through combat, and weapons improve alongside them. Blasters can still overheat, encouraging players to aim carefully rather than hold down the trigger.
A Stronger Reason to Return to Galaxy’s Edge
The ride’s core appeal lies in the illusion of piloting the Falcon with a crew of six strangers. Smuggler’s Gambit expands this with faction work from characters like Nexa Jette of the Veta Syndicate and the Silent Circle’s mysterious Voice, adding side missions beyond the main quests.
This experience isn’t just a digital souvenir from Galaxy’s Edge. The class abilities, mission voting, optional objectives, enemy pressure, and upgrade system provide players with reasons to return after the initial novelty fades. The MyDisney account link adds a meaningful park connection, but the co-op gameplay is designed to stand on its own.
Will you be jumping into Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit to run Hondo’s jobs with friends, or saving the adventure for your next trip aboard Smugglers Run? Let us know in the comments.
