For many years, EA was the sole developer of Star Wars video games. That exclusivity has now ended, and it seems Disney wants to capitalize on the opportunity to release new games at a steady pace.
More specifically, Insider Gaming reports that Disney wants to see Star Wars games released every six months, totaling two per year. This apparently includes one triple-A release and one smaller title, which many would interpret to mean a mobile game or the like. It sounds like a demanding schedule, but keep in mind that there are already eight announced Star Wars games in the works.
Let’s go through the list. EA might not have exclusive rights anymore, but at the beginning of 2022, it announced that Respawn is working on three Star Wars games. One of those is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Fallen Order, but Respawn also has a first-person shooter and a strategy game in the works. Game four is coming from Amy Hennig’s studio Skydance New Media. The others are Star Wars Eclipse from Quantic Dream, the Knights of the Old Republic remake, the arena game Star Wars: Hunters, and a collaboration with Ubisoft’s Massive studio, which worked on The Division 2.
In terms of the six-month pattern, it’s hard to say which game will kickstart things. Jedi: Survivor is potentially releasing in March 2023, if a mistaken PlayStation Network listing is to be believed. Hunters, which fulfills the role of a smaller game on mobile devices and Nintendo Switch, was recently delayed from 2022 into next year. KOTOR is clearly a ways off, as the remake reportedly shifted to a different studio over the summer. Meanwhile, Star Wars Eclipse is facing issues of its own, as developer Quantic Dream has been the target of repeated allegations of toxic workplace conditions.
Those are just the games we know about, of course. Disney surely has more irons in the fire that have yet to be revealed. Streaming series like The Mandalorian and the recently launched Andor also seem ripe for adaptations down the road.
