With a resurgence of the coveted Star Wars franchise in recent years seeing a plethora of new adaptations of the IP across different forms of media, the gaming sphere has been one of the most popular. One of the many Star Wars videogame titles that have been announced for the near future includes Star Wars Eclipse, which is a project that promises to be massively detailed, expansive, and narrative driven.
However, a deflating byproduct of this alleged scale and depth is present within the reported release date of the game, with this Star Wars title being set for a 2027 or 2028 release date. While this gives Star Wars Eclipse a healthy development cycle befitting of how immense it promises to be, fans are understandably worried that it has perhaps been announced too early, running the risk of falling to the wayside as other projects inevitably take center stage as time passes. Not only this, such a gulf between announcement and release has historically produced a litany of other potential issues with other games in the past.
The Details Of Star Wars Eclipse
Whilst a lot of the intricacies of the 2027/2028 billed Star Wars Eclipse understandably remain unknown at this stage of its development, there is still a lot of information to give prospective gamers an idea of what to expect. The game is being developed by infamous studio Quantic Dream, who recently developed the critically acclaimed Detroit: Become Human, which saw the company firmly establish itself within the development industry.
While the studio has a fairly consistent track record, also having developed Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain, many fans are tentative to become excited at Quantic Dream's involvement in Star Wars Eclipse. With studio head David Cage being embroiled in workplace harassment and toxicity accusations, many Star Wars Eclipse fans are even protesting against Quantic Dream's involvement. Not only is this obviously bad publicity for Star Wars Eclipse, but it also is a fine example of why announcing the game, as well as its developer, at this stage in time was not the best idea, especially given how recent these accusations are.
Development controversy aside, Star Wars Eclipse is confirmed to be an action-adventure game, with a multiple-character branching narrative that sees the players choices have tangible consequences within the story and game world. On top of this content-driven focus, leakers have claimed that Star Wars Eclipse will be open world, which will provide multiplayer elements on top of a very in-depth single player core.
The game is quite unique in its setting, being set in the High Republic era of the Star Wars universe, a 200-year period considered as the "golden era of the Jedi." Being an age of rapid exploration of the Outer Rim and heightened Jedi numbers and activity, the aforementioned alleged MMO elements to Star Wars Eclipse are given more credence through its setting. Given the intense lore and frequent activity associated with this era, the High Republic setting of Star Wars Eclipse has many potential stories to offer, which has built fan anticipation quite significantly.
Despite the excitement that imagining a narrative-driven gameplay experience within this setting facilitates, the sobering reality of Star Wars Eclipse not releasing until 2027 or 2028 still remains. With Star Wars Eclipse reportedly already facing a slew of early development issues, many fans are wondering if the game will fall into the classic trap of being announced and garnering hype before it should have done.
Other Games That Were Announced To Soon
A very apt example of a game being announced too soon is present within a title that shares the same IP as Eclipse, namely Star Wars Battlefront 2. Despite coming out in 2017, only a year after its initial release, the close proximity in which Battlefront 2 released in comparison to Battlefront 1 seriously irked fans who were still expecting updates and post-launch care for Battlefront 1. With a slew of other Star Wars videogame titles set to be released between now and the release of Star Wars Eclipse, setting a date as far away as 2028 may produce some serious hindrances down the line should any of these other titles require a strong amount of post-care attention and focus.
One of the most infamous examples of a contemporary AAA title being announced too soon is present within Cyberpunk 2077, with the game initially being announced in 2012 and released in 2020. With the unique setting and sprawling dynamic world of Cyberpunk 2077 sharing the same qualities of garnering pre-launch hype as Star Wars Eclipse, the game can, and should, serve as a reminder to Quantic Dream about how damaging such a gulf in time between announcement and release can be for a highly anticipated title. With CD Projekt Red becoming increasingly confined to the set release date and releasing Cyberpunk 2077 in an extremely unfinished state, Star Wars Eclipse additionally runs the risk of having to release an unfinished project to fans who have already been waiting years for the product.
In terms of a game being announced too early having an impact on its relevancy and sway within the gaming discourse, gamers have to look no further than Starfield. Initially announced alongside The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield is an upcoming Bethesda title that has had little to no tangible updates in quite some time following its announcement. Starfield is billed as a true next generation space exploration open-world RPG, set in the first new Bethesda universe for over 25 years, and understandably garnered a lot of hype following its 2018 announcement.
However, with very little still being known about the title and how the game will operate, despite being set for a November 2022 release date, many fans are speculating that a delay is almost inevitable. With Starfield resultantly losing hype and positive opinion amongst fans following the muted nature of its development, Star Wars Eclipse must additionally take a proactive and communication-led development cycle or risk sharing the same fate.
Star Wars Eclipse is set for a 2027/2028 release date.