‘Star Wars’ Games Will Release Biannually

A new report indicates that Disney wants to up their annual ante on Star Wars gaming, with each year having one AAA title and one smaller-scale game.

 

In 2013, it was anticipated that Electronic Arts would become a powerhouse on the gaming front for Lucasfilm’s signature franchise for their ten-year exclusivity deal, but unfortunately for Star Wars fans, the deal resulted in a number of cancelled projects as the company’s focus was on in-house games despite the release of two Battlefront titles, Squadrons, and Jedi: Fallen Order, alongside various mobile offerings. With the exclusivity part of the contract now expiring and Star Wars games being open to an abundance of developers, Disney’s long-term plans for the franchise are much more ambitious. According to Insider Gaming‘s Tom Henderson, Disney are seeking to give Star Wars much more emphasis on the gaming field going forward, with the tentative plan to have a game in the franchise arrive at least once every six months, with each year ideally having one event-level game and one smaller-scale offering.

 

For a recap about the state of Star Wars gaming, we know that the following projects are in development:

 

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – Galactic Edition by TT Games.
• Star Wars: Eclipse by Quantic Dream.
• Knights of the Old Republic – Remake by Saber Interactive.
• Star Wars: Hunters by Zynga.
• Jedi: Survivor by Respawn Entertainment.
• Untitled FPS by Respawn Entertainment.
• Untitled Strategy Game by Respawn Entertainment.
• Amy Hennig’s Untitled Game by Skydance Media.
• Untitled Open World Game by Ubisoft Massive.

 

Henderson notes that his sources have indicated that several additional titles are in the pre-development stage, although some of the games mentioned above are four years away at least. It’s been said that Eclipse is likely the furthest out of these projects, due to complications with making Quantic Dream’s engine expand to fit the scale of the galaxy far, far away — a “development nightmare” for the studio. Henderson also notes there are rumors of a tie-in game for The Mandalorian, but those are largely speculative based on how well that the series has done.

 

With the amount of content that’s in the pipeline, Lucasfilm Games could reasonably get as many games out as their parent company are pushing for. It will be likely that a number of smaller titles will help bolster the company’s ambitions, with mobile games such as Hunters or titles on the scale of Squadrons likely providing support in the months between new AAA releases.