LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is in a tough place right now. The next installment in the popular LEGO game series has been plagued by a couple of delays, which has become the new norm in the industry thanks to development difficulties in the past year. The game has been sitting at a tentative spring 2021 release for quite some time now, but even as the season has begun, there aren't any hints of when more news will be coming. A lot of speculation pointed towards more information coming at the recent Future Games Show, but unfortunately the game was completely absent from the event.
Even through all of this disappointment, many fans still believe that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga could come out before the spring is over. One of the biggest rumors that many are holding onto is that the game will come out on May 4, what is often dubbed as "Star Wars Day" because of the "May the Force/4th be with you" wordplay. Capitalizing on the excitement of the day would certainly give the game a lot of attention, and serve as a great way to celebrate the Star Wars franchise. At the same time, with how little is known about the game officially, these rumors may be a little too optimistic.
No ESRB Rating
One of the biggest hang-ups that would make a May 4, or even a spring release unlikely, is the fact that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has yet to receive an ESRB rating. Although it's likely the family friendly game won't surpass that of an E10+ rating, it's still a necessary part of the game development process. Most games get their rating well before release, and if The Skywalker Saga hasn't been rated at this point, then that could mean it isn't close to being finished. If Traveller's Tales really was shooting for a May 4 release, some kind of announcement on the game's ESRB rating would have to be made very soon.
Where's the Marketing?
A lot of games are built on how successful their marketing campaigns are. Even if a game isn't reviewed particularly well, it can still get a decent amount of sales by drawing in gamers with sensational trailers and promotional ads. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has yet to unveil any marketing campaign of any kind, and the process of promoting a game usually begins well before release. If the game really was going to come out on May 4, The Skywalker Saga marketing campaign would have to start right now, and ideally would have started at least a month ago.
Social Media Ghost Town
In addition to the absence of an ESRB rating and marketing campaign, perhaps one of the most glaring pieces of evidence against a May 4 release is the game's lack of a social media presence. The appeal of social media is user engagement, and many game companies have used this to a game's advantage during development in order to provide updates and entertain waiting fans. The LEGO Star Wars Twitter page seems to have neglected this opportunity. Not a single post has been made on the page since September of last year, and a lot of work would need to be done in order to establish a strong online presence before launch.
It may be unlikely that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will release on May 4, but the excitement of fans is not misplaced. Star Wars is one of the flagship properties to be immortalized in the toy bricks, and The Skywalker Saga promises to include a plethora of different characters from across the galaxy. The lack of information out of Traveller's Tales is a bit concerning, and could potentially mean that the game will be receiving another delay. With how much anticipation is behind LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, fans can only hope that all of their patience will have been worth it.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga releases spring 2021, on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.