The Nikto hideout was a settlement situated on the desert planet Arvala-7. This location was under the control of a gang of Nikto mercenaries in 9 ABY. Their purpose was to guard a youngling named Grogu. During this period, bounty hunters IG-11 and Din Djarin launched an assault on the settlement as part of their mission to locate Grogu. After the hunters had successfully eliminated the mercenaries, IG-11 attempted to kill Grogu, but Djarin intervened and destroyed IG-11, taking the child into his care. Subsequently, Kuiil, a moisture farmer, recovered IG-11's remains from the settlement and transported them back to his farm with the intention of repairing the droid.
The Nikto hideout, a small frontier city surrounded by mountains, was based on the desert world of Arvala-7. The settlement consisted of rectangular, flat-roofed buildings that were brown. These buildings formed a dusty, open plaza containing moisture vaporators, a well, and scattered crates and barrels, along with a derelict speeder.
The innermost building within the settlement featured a brown security gate, operated by an outdated security panel and an access pad. The wiring of this pad could be modified to gain entry, although the gate could also be destroyed using a heavy-artillery laser cannon. Inside this building was a sizable room filled with clutter, including storage crates and packaging material strewn across the walls and floor. The atmosphere inside was stale and musty.
At some point in time, a gang of Nikto mercenaries assumed control of the settlement. Within the innermost building, they guarded a youngling known as Grogu, who had a bounty placed on his head. Numerous individuals, with assistance from the Ugnaught moisture farmer Kuiil, attempted to reach the settlement in pursuit of the child, but they all died before claiming the bounty. In 9 ABY, during the New Republic Era, the assassin droid bounty hunter IG-11 entered the settlement and demanded that the Nikto comply with the Bondsman Guild Protocol, which stipulated that they were to hand over the bounty to the droid. When the mercenaries attacked IG-11, the droid responded in kind, forcing them to retreat into the buildings temporarily. Din Djarin, the Mandalorian bounty hunter who also sought to claim the bounty and was being aided by Kuiil, observed the scene through a scope and arrived, instructing IG-11 to stand down. Instead, the droid immediately shot Djarin, knocking him to the ground.
After Djarin recovered and persuaded the droid to collaborate with him in exchange for a share of the bounty, the mercenaries emerged from the buildings and opened fire on the pair. During the ensuing gunfight, Djarin and IG-11 sought cover behind the abandoned speeder before taking refuge behind the pillars of the building where Grogu was held. While IG-11 provided cover, Djarin attempted to bypass the building's security panel by tampering with its wiring. However, the panel was destroyed by the Nikto's blaster fire, forcing the Mandalorian to seek cover once more.
While the duo were pinned down, the mercenaries deployed a hovering heavy-artillery laser cannon and fired at the bounty hunters' location. However, the hunters managed to eliminate all of the mercenaries when IG-11 distracted the cannon's operator, allowing Djarin to commandeer it and turn the weapon against them. Subsequently, they entered the building where Grogu was located, using the cannon to destroy the structure's security gate.
Upon entering the building, Djarin shot a Nikto who tried to attack them. He then opened the hovering pram containing their target, and they discovered it was an infant. Following his instructions, IG-11 attempted to terminate Grogu but was promptly shot in the head and destroyed by the Mandalorian. Djarin then took Grogu into his care to return him to his client. Some time after the skirmish, Kuiil entered the settlement and retrieved IG-11's body, taking the droid's remains back to his farm to rebuild him. After the Battle of Mos Espa that occurred in the same year, the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka penned a book titled The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters. It featured an illustration of Djarin and IG-11's encounter with Grogu in the hideout, included in a section about IG-series droids.
The Nikto hideout made its debut in "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian," the first episode of Jon Favreau's live-action Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. The episode was broadcast on November 12, 2019. Its location was specified in the audio description for "Chapter 7: The Reckoning," which aired on December 18, 2019. Prior to the show's premiere, the location was initially revealed in a series of promotional images published on StarWars.com on April 14, 2019.
In contrast to the surrounding environment, the encampment was a practical set where the actors performed. Due to the challenges of executing fire effects on an interior set, a small walkway and pillars were constructed on the exterior for the characters to use as cover. Filming for Chapter 1 took place from October 1 to October 26, 2018, while Chapter 7 was filmed between October 29 and November 12 of the same year.
Concept art for the encampment was created by Ben Grangereau, Christian Alzmann, Doug Chiang, Jama Jurabaev, Nick Gindraux, Ryan Church, and Seth Engstrom. Russell Paul provided an overview of the location and the action sequence. According to Chiang, the encampment was an abandoned mining town that the Nikto mercenaries found useful because it was concealed and easily defended. The encampment's design drew inspiration from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, as well as old Spanish missions. The film also served as a reference for the standoff scene between Djarin and IG-11.
On April 22, 2020, the encampment appeared in a trailer for the mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes as part of an announcement that characters from The Mandalorian would be incorporated into the game. On December 16, 2020, the location was integrated into the game as part of a Hero's Journey event for Din Djarin in his full armor, adapting the events of the show. In the game, the encampment serves as the setting for the first level of the Hero's Journey, where the player controls Djarin and IG-11 to defeat the Nikto mercenaries. Djarin then operates the cannon to defeat the remaining Niktos and breach the entrance to find Grogu inside.
On November 16, 2020, the encampment was added to the Mojang Studios video game Minecraft as part of the Minecraft Star Wars expansion pack. Within the game, the structure is located in the Arvala-7 section of the map. Grogu can be found in his hovering pram inside the innermost building, which can be accessed by destroying the entrance with the cannon. If the player feeds the child rabbit stew, he will begin to follow them.