In gaming, a sub-genre is usually defined by a few strong games leading the pack. One obvious example is that of the soulslike genre, which are games that have a similar difficulty and design philosophy based on the Dark Souls franchise. Metroidvania is another due to world structure. One that often comes unheralded, though, is that of the Star Wars game.
Many would agree that, prior to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars games had generally fallen to the wayside. Battlefront is a solid shooter for the franchise, but it's not what some would want. Many long for the days of the Kotor RPGs or even realities where 1313 and Project Ragtag actually exist, meaning there's a solid history of games that never came to fruition.
Canceled Star Wars Games
While plenty of Star Wars games were high-profile at the time of their cancellation (if due to initial impressions and brand recognition alone), several smaller games were also swept under a rug. These include...
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Ewok Adventure was a game for the Atari that was actually completed but never saw release due to its high difficulty. Players would have controlled an Ewok belonging to the hang glider corps on a mission to destroy shield generators.
- Star Wars: First Assault was canceled due to Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm. Not much is known, but many speculated it was a pseudo-Battlefront game.
- Star Wars Outpost would have been the equivalent of Farmville for the franchise. It was canceled at LucasArts after Q&A testing.
- Star Wars: Attack Squadrons was an online browser space combat game that was canceled after 5 months of beta testing, reportedly due to the development of other Star Wars game. Although on a completely different scale, many fans were likely left aching for a game similar to this, and Star Wars: Squadrons may be able to deliver.
- Star Wars: Battle of the Sith Lords would have allowed players to control Maul (or a clone thereof) as he fought alongside Darth Talon for the Rule of Two being broken. It seems the game was also canceled due to the Disney acquisition, but the studio itself wasn't fully informed until just before.
Many of these games may not have been heard of, at least not in a large public space. However, many of the games that were canceled could have possible steered Star Wars games in an all-new direction. As many know, the current Battlefronts are spiritual successors to the originals, which was meant to be a trilogy. Nonetheless, Star Wars Battlefront 3 was canceled in 2008 following a split between LucasArts and Free Radical, which also had some serious mudslinging between the two companies. Whether it would have lived up to its predessor is up in the air, but one does have to wonder what that would mean for current Battlefront games had it proceeded.
Star Wars 1313
Perhaps one of the highest-profiles cancelations was that of Star Wars 1313, where players would have controlled Boba Fett on Level 1313 of Coruscant. When it was first revealed, many were incredibly impressed with what was shown, and new material that has surfaced in recent years has shown that Star Wars 1313 could have been a good, yet different telling of the Star Wars game.
Instead of Jedi and Sith, it would have been focused on the seedy underworlds of scoundrels (and arguably the most popular Bounty Hunter of the franchise.) Like many games, it was canceled after months of development limbo when Disney shut down LucasArts. President Kathleen Kennedy has mentioned the game in passing as something the company was still interested in, but that hasn't seemed to bear any fruit.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3
Many have been begging for a Kotor 3 for the longest time, as the first two are some of the most iconic RPGs of the franchise, but at this point, it's probably little more than a pipe dream. A few details have dripped over the years about a canceled Kotor 3 project, which would have included a female character named Naresha, but nothing ever came to fruition. According to Chris Avellone, many of the Kotor 3's story details had been drafted, but the game was ultimately canceled when the company hit a rough patch. The writing may have been on the walls then, as this was prior to the Disney purchase.
BioWare was reportedly teased with the Kotor 3 project at some point as well, with the exact timeline of events unknown. Nonetheless, had Kotor 3 came to fruition, it seems plausible that Star Wars could have a much more profound influence in the gaming industry as it does today. Jedi Fallen Order has given many hope for the future, but despite some movement forward, many are still wary over EA's plans.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3
Another game lost to Disney's canning of LucasArts was The Force Unleashed 3, reportedly an open-world experience that would have seen Vader and Starkiller on an adventure together to stop Emperor Palpatine from replacing Vader. The game wasn't far in development at the time of its cancellation and was reportedly planned to release after The Force Awakens. Star Wars fever was at a pitch near the beginning of the sequel trilogy, so once again, it's worth wondering if The Force Unleashed 3 could have seized the opportunity to further define Star Wars games.
Star Wars: Project Ragtag
Project Ragtag was only ever briefly shown, but what was shown made many fans immediately fall in love. It was eventually canceled by EA, as it did not want to focus on single-player games (a move that Jedi Fallen Order proves was a mistake), but one developer claimed it would have been "the best Star Wars game ever made." Not much is known about it, aside from once again being focused on Scoundrels and a huge heist, but the goals were described as lofty. It would been a big project for Visceral Games, and many were indubitably disappointed when EA shut down Visceral, ultimately leading to Ragtag's cancelation.