During the 90s, as the initial hype around the Star Wars franchise died out, die-hard fans of the series were forced into their first "Dark Age." Star Wars toys were being thrown into bargain bins, the movies could only be watched on VHS, and the general public started to forget about Star Wars. Then, the prequels happened, and a whole new generation of fans were awoken. New TV shows, toys, and games were all releasing regularly. The mid-2000s saw some of the best Star Wars media of all time releasing, like Knights of the Old Republic, and the original Clone Wars show. Then it all died down once more, and new fans were left to their own Dark Age.
Flash forward nearly a decade and Disney has made the sequel trilogy, ensuring that Star Wars is once again one of the most popular franchises on the planet. It was only a matter of time before Star Wars would try to cement its place in the video game market once more, and that time seems to have arrived. Respawn Entertainment has just announced that it's working on three new Star Wars games. Along with the five other Star Wars titles already in development, the next few years look like they might just be some of the franchise's best yet.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The only Star Wars game to have an official release date, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has been in development for almost five years now and has reportedly caused a great deal of stress and anxiety for those that have worked on the game. With a report carried out by Polygon, it was alleged that the vast majority of TT Games has had to experience severe crunch over the last five years, dealing with other forms of unfair workplace practices on top of that.
That being said, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga looks like a Star Wars fan's dream. All nine mainline Star Wars movies can be played through in charming LEGO game fashion, there's over 20 individual planets with their own expansive open-world environment to explore, and there's over 300 unlockable characters and vehicles. All of this should make for an extremely replayable game.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga looks like it's shaping up to be one of the best Star Wars games ever made. Fans will be able to finally get their hands on the game come April 5.
Star Wars: Hunters
Announced during a Nintendo Direct in February 2021, Star Wars: Hunters is a mobile/Nintendo Switch game that is set to release at some stage in 2022. In a Star Wars: Hunters gameplay trailer shown about a month ago, the game appeared to be using hero-based arena shooter gameplay, much like Overwatch.
A total of nine playable Star Wars: Hunters characters have been announced, each with their own unique set of abilities and quirks. Players can take control of an Imperial Heavy Stormtrooper, a melee-based Wookie Warrior, a Rebel Alliance veteran, a Dark Jedi, a robot who believes he's a Jedi, two Jawas in a trench coat, and a few other suitably Star Wars-y faces.
While the game doesn't have a specific release date yet, players who are interested can sign up for pre-registration, which will grant them some cosmetic rewards upon the game's eventual release. When it does release, Star Wars: Hunters will be free-to-play.
Star Wars: Eclipse
Announced at the Game Awards in December, Star Wars: Eclipse is a brand-new Star Wars title from the developer Quantic Dream, who have delivered narrative-driven games like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human in the past. Details on this game are extremely scarce right now, with only the game's High Republic setting being set in stone, and the game officially being detailed as an "action-adventure, multiple-character branching narrative game."
Star Wars' High Republic era is relatively new to the franchise, with a multimedia project creating the era just a few years ago. There's been a few comics and books set in the High Republic era if fans want to find out what Eclipse's story might be based on.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake
A game that Star Wars fans have wanted for years, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake was finally announced during a September 2021 Playstation Showcase online event. This remake is set to take the original 2003 RPG classic and re-build it from the ground-up using the latest video game technology.
The remake is being worked on by Aspyr, the team behind all the Star Wars ports that have headed to PlayStation and Switch consoles recently. Official details on the game are virtually non-existent, with the only confirmed detail being that the game will be PlayStation 5 and PC exclusive at launch. Aside from that, no official word has come out about the game since its original unveiling, although there has been some rumors that the game will scrap the original's turn-based combat.
Ubisoft's Open-World Star Wars Game
Details on Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars title are minimal. Currently, the only officially confirmed elements of the game are that it will use the new Snowdrop engine and that it is being developed by Massive Entertainment, who has worked on The Division series.
Massive Entertainment is also playing a part in developing the upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora game, which is also using the Snowdrop engine. Apparently, Disney was so impressed with the developer's work on Avatar that it offered Massive the Star Wars license as well. That's everything fans know about the game right now, though, as not even a setting or era has been revealed yet.
Respawn's Three Newly Announced Star Wars Games
It was just announced that Respawn Entertainment, the developer that made Titanfall, Apex Legends, and Jedi: Fallen Order, is making three new Star Wars games under the EA banner. One of these games is said to be continuing the "Jedi" series, implying that the game will likely be a direct sequel to 2019's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
The second upcoming Star Wars title from Respawn will be a first-person shooter. It is helmed by industry veteran Peter Hirschmann, who has worked on Star Wars games for decades, with work dating back to 2004's Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Galaxies. The third Star Wars game being worked on by Respawn is going to be a strategy game, led by the developer Bit Reactor, a new studio headed up by former members of XCOM developer Firaxis.