Respawn Entertainment, known chiefly for its shooters, took the Star Wars community by surprise with its exceptional Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its eventual sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Set after events of Order 66, these games provide a glimpse into the struggles of Jedi survivors as they try and escape the clutches of the Empire and its forces. The release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019 marked a new beginning for both EA and the Star Wars franchise.
Both Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor have been a massive success for Respawn Entertainment and EA. Fallen Order released in November 2019, and by the end of 2020 sold over 10 million copies worldwide and was also nominated for the award of the Best Action/Adventure Game in The Game Awards 2020. On the other hand, The Force was even stronger with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor as its launch sales in 2023 exceeded that of Fallen Order by roughly 30%. In light of the success of the Star Wars Jedi series so far, it can be deduced that a third Jedi game in the franchise may already be in the works.
The Case of a Third Jedi Game
The success of both Star Wars Jedi games, combined with the intriguing plot threads woven in by them into the Star Wars Lore makes it seem inevitable for Respawn Entertainment to develop a third game in the franchise. While no official announcement has been made by the developers or the publishers, in July 2023, Respawn Entertainment posted ads for a "Principal Game Writer" position, leading fans to believe that sequel is already in the works. To make the case even stronger, the director of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Stig Asmussen, told IGN, "I always wanted to see this as a trilogy", while referring to the Star Wars Jedi series.
Given the popularity of the Jedi games, and the hype surrounding actor Cameron Monaghan's Cal Kestis as a new face for the Jedi, it makes perfect sense for Respawn Entertainment to continue Cal's Journey and eventually tie him into the major events of the Star Wars canon. There are even rumors of actor Cameron Monaghan signing up a deal with Disney+ for a Star Wars Jedi television series. However, none of the mentioned information has been confirmed by either side.
The Star Wars franchise is seemingly undergoing a renaissance with the release of many successful projects like The Mandalorian and the Kenobi series. Moreover, Respawn Entertainment has also confirmed it has two other Star Wars titles in development, one being a shooting game, while the other will have strategy based gameplay. Thus, it may take some time before fans are provided with more information on the third Jedi game. However, there is a silver lining, as Respawn Entertainment may be using the powerful new Unreal Engine 5 to develop it, as hinted by its job ad for a Senior VFX Artist.
Jedi Survivor introduces many new characters, the most important of which was Kata Akuna, the daughter of Bode Akuna and Tayala Akuna. At the end of Jedi Survivor it is shown that Kata aligns herself with Cal and joins the mantis crew, potentially setting up some important plot points for the next Jedi game. The third entry in the series could possibly explore the growing bond between Cal and Kata, as Cal acts as her mentor. Though Kata has not been shown to have any force powers in Jedi Survivor, she may eventually develop them in the sequel, becoming Cal's Padawan in the process. In this way, a third Star Wars Jedi game could give Cal's journey a befitting conclusion, while also setting up Kata as a new Jedi protagonist for more games down the line.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
