The history of Star Wars is nearly as long as that of video games themselves. With over 100 video games across 45 years, there is no shortage of Star Wars for gamers to enjoy. With a wide variety in platform, theme, and adherence to canon, fans of the galaxy far, far away can almost always find a game that suits their needs. Unfortunately, not every Star Wars game is lucky enough to make it to release.
The history of gaming in the Star Wars universe is full of canceled projects. Some of these tragic tales were little more than concepts or pitches, while others died well into the development phase. In total, 33 Star Wars games have been fully canceled so far, with some well-known entries deeply mourned by the Star Wars community.
Star Wars: 1313
Star Wars: 1313 is perhaps the most well-known of the canceled Star Wars video games. Originally revealed at E3 in 2012, Star Wars: 1313 was marketed as a gritty third-person shooter with platform and playable cinematic gameplay similar to Uncharted. A full trailer, screenshots, and gameplay footage at various stages of development exists - with some Star Wars: 1313 footage having appeared as late as January 2022.
The original concept of Star Wars: 1313 had players control an unidentified bounty hunter in the depths of the planet-city Coruscant, and was full of criminal conspiracies and seedy nightlife. However, George Lucas wanted the game to focus instead on a younger Boba Fett. To accommodate, Star Wars: 1313 planned to have Boba Fett kill the original character early on, with the player then taking over as the Mandalorian headhunter for the remainder of the game.
Unfortunately, with Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars in 2012, the fate of Star Wars: 1313 was called into question, though reports from GameSpot indicate other production difficulties may have played a factor as well. The project was scrapped in 2013, with the trademark fully abandoned in 2014. The following year, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said material for Star Wars: 1313 and its canceled companion TV series, Star Wars: Underworld, could still be developed in some way in the future.
Battle of the Sith Lords
Though not as far-along in development as 1313 was, Battle of the Sith Lords was no less infamous. Developed by Red Fly Studio, this project, periodically codenamed “Damage” and “Maul,” was to be a violent third-person action game in the style of Arkham Asylum and The Force Unleashed.
Red Fly was not told any details of the game beyond its title, and that it was to feature Darth Maul as the main character. LucasArts gave Red Fly little guidance - it didn’t even tell the developers of Darth Maul’s future role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. With no direction, Red Fly instead focused on the gameplay aspects of Battle of the Sith Lords, resulting in some prototype footage.
Battle of the Sith Lords floundered for some time, struggling to nail down a concept. Various concepts included an origin story, a Clone Wars companion story, and even a tale set 170 years in the future, with a descendent of Darth Maul fighting alongside Darth Talon against Darth Krayt, two characters from the comic series Star Wars Legacy. Like 1313, the Disney acquisition was the death knell for Battle of the Sith Lords, though it is hard to say if the game would have stabilized on its own otherwise.
The Star Wars Sequels that Never Were
Over the years, several popular Star Wars video games had planned sequels that never happened. While some of these spawned spiritual successors, the tried-and-true sequels have a place of honor in the graveyard of Star Wars titles.
The Force Unleashed 3 was another victim of the Disney acquisition. Canceled in 2013, this sequel would have concluded the story of Starkiller in an open-world co-op game. Players would play as Starkiller or Vader as they reluctantly team up to combat the Emperor’s schemes and minions, including Boba Fett. Unfortunately, the game was canceled in 2013 before the concept art stage.
Free Radical planned to continue its original Battlefront series before it was canceled in 2008 due to a falling-out between the developer and LucasArts. Battlefront 3 was to have seamless ground-to-space battles, while early concept art from Battlefront 4 suggested it would focus on “what if” scenarios, including dark side Luke Skywalker. Rumors of missed deadlines, late payments, and embezzlement stalk the project, which was reportedly “97% complete” before its cancelation. In 2012, playtest footage of Battlefront 3 surfaced online. Though DICE rebooted the Battlefront series with installments in 2015 and 2017, it currently has no plans to release a Battlefront 3 of its own.
A sequel to Star Wars: Republic Commando -- the 2005 tactical shooter companion to the novels by Karen Traviss -- was canceled before its predecessor even launched. The sequel had two competing pitches: Imperial Commando, which would focus on an Empire-aligned commando unit fighting against the Rebel Alliance and the Jedi, and Rebel Commando, focusing instead on survivors of Republic Commando fighting against the Empire. Unfortunately, between lukewarm reception of Republic Commando and retcons from the Clone Wars TV series, the project never went beyond concept art.
Knights of the Old Republic has been in the spotlight recently because of the remake whose own fate is currently in question. Knights of the Old Republic 3 was canceled some time after 2004 due to, according to designer Jon Stafford, “a difficult period in the company’s history.” Concepts and art pointed the story towards a new player character following Revan’s footsteps as he journeyed into unknown reaches to battle ancient, powerful Sith lords. Considering the plot points from Star Wars: The Old Republic, which features both Revan and Vitiate/Valkorion, an ancient Sith lord, it is easy to see how BioWare may have taken inspiration from these early concepts with its MMORPG.
Back in 2003, LucasArts canceled plans to release Jedi Knight 3: Brink of Darkness, a sequel to Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Like its predecessors, players would have controlled Kyle Katarn in the finale of his story. Unfortunately, after Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, which featured Kyle Katarn as an NPC and mentor of a customizable main character, LucasArts decided not to go through with the project.
Other concepts from the other two dozen canceled games range from scum-and-villainy space pirate romps and Rogue Squadron spin-offs to an anthology of Rebellion-themed action games. With luck, future Star Wars games won’t have the misfortune of joining their ill-fated predecessors on the cutting room floor.