It seems Star Wars games could be heading for a new renaissance in the next few years. With the return of Lucasfilm Games and the relatively soon-to-be-expired EA exclusivity contract, the flood gates for Star Wars games seem they could open. After all, several games have already been announced, more are likely to be announced, and some could even be secretly in development right now.
It’ll be interesting to see what comes of these games and projects, as well as how they are received. But with the new year here too, fans should be sure to manage expectations in regards to the future of Star Wars games too.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Of all Star Wars games known to be in development, the most-known about is LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga with trailers, features, and more detailing the game. It received the short end of the COVID-19 pandemic stick, being delayed multiple times. It is currently set to release in “early 2022” so fans should expect a new trailer and a new release date announcement relatively soon. Of course, another delay cannot be ruled out, but it seems more likely to be on its way than it isn’t. This should be the first major game fans expect anything of this year.
Star Wars: Hunters
Star Wars: Hunters is a competitive arena combat game, releasing for mobile and Switch sometime this year. Players get to fight in iconic locations with a diverse set of characters, including a robot who thinks they are a Jedi and a character made of two Jawas (with one standing on the other’s shoulders). More will come out about the game soon, but fans will want to make sure they follow related social media accounts and have notifications for the game. As a primarily mobile game, it’s not likely to have as big of a news and marketing cycle as other games.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2
Now, for many, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 might just take the cake this year. Comments from Jeff Grubb suggest EA is intending to reveal Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 before E3 this year, with signs pointing toward this happening in May—ergo, May 4. Star Wars day would be a good time for it, and a reveal this early could suggest a 2022 release date. With the state of the world, a delay into 2023 isn’t the unlikeliest thing in the world, but it sounds like marketing and news for the game will pick up over the summer and hit their stride this fall. If Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 releases this fall too, that’s just icing on the cake.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake
There are a lot of rumors out there about the Knights of the Old Republic Remake, but fans should keep in mind just that—they are rumors. Not much official about the KOTOR Remake is publicly known yet, as the teaser trailer didn’t really show much of the game. It only confirmed it was in development, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if KOTOR was quiet this year. Fans shouldn’t expect it at any major events, like upcoming State of Plays, because all they are doing is setting themselves up for disappointment. A small appearance somewhere isn’t impossible, but all signs point toward it being early in development. As such, fans will just need to be patient with this one.
Star Wars Eclipse
If KOTOR is likely going to be quiet for a while, then Star Wars Eclipse certainly is. Recent reports have suggested that Star Wars Eclipse is already having development troubles, with its High Republic trailer not revealing much about the game either. Furthermore, release date expectations now put this game into the mid-2020s, with some pointing toward 2026-2027 specifically. A game four years out isn’t going to show off a whole lot, and so it seems that something from KOTOR is more likely than anything from Eclipse right now.
Ubisoft’s Open-World Star Wars Game
Joining the list of unlikely-to-be-heard-of-this-year games, Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars game has three major components fans should keep in mind. First, it is in development by Massive which is also preparing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora for a 2022 release (and could potentially be delayed). Secondly, the exclusive EA contract likely limits how much can be said of it before its expiration. Finally, it’s probably as far as out as KOTOR at the very least. With all of that in mind, not much should be expected of it this year.
Expect a Star Wars Gaming Surprise or Two
While fans have some games on the horizon and some even further off in the distance, that’s not to say there will be a big gap. Or, more specifically, it’s not too likely there will be a huge gap in games. This time last year, no one could have predicted Ubi’s game, Star Wars Eclipse, or the KOTOR Remake actually being real (after years of rumors and fan speculation). As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see one or two new Star Wars games be announced, some potential reveals for 2023, and the like.