Electronic Arts has an exclusivity deal with LucasFilm Games, to develop Star Wars games, which is set to expire in 2023. Perhaps that was the impetus for Tuesday’s announcement that three new Star Wars games are on the way. EA-owned studio Respawn Entertainment, which created Apex Legends and developed 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, will lead the development of these new games.
“We are excited to continue working with the superbly talented developers at Respawn,” VP of LucasFilm Games, Douglas Reilly, said in the announcement. “They have demonstrated excellence in telling epic Star Wars stories along with best-in-class gameplay across different genres and we are looking forward to bringing more amazing experiences to the galaxy far, far away.”
One of the new games will be the follow-up to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, headed by Stig Asmussen — the same game director who oversaw the first game’s development. Fallen Order was met with generally positive reviews for its combat, story and world-building. As of yet, it is not confirmed whether or not this will be a direct sequel and whether it will feature the same characters. However, Fallen Order’s ending left plenty of room for a sequel. It’s possible that we could see another game featuring Cal Kestis and his loyal droid BD-1 as they face off against more iconic Star Wars villains.
Respawn is also developing a first-person shooter based in the Star Wars universe. The game’s development will be spearheaded by the team that developed Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. It will not, however, be a new Star Wars: Battlefront game. Star Wars Battlefront II, which came out in 2017, was similarly a first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe. However, it was met with criticism for its microtransaction system. It is unclear whether Respawn will draw resources from their Apex Legends development for this new shooter.
The third Star Wars game under development is a turn-based strategy game. Respawn is partnering with games studio Bit Reactor for strategy game development. Bit Reactor is a new studio specializing in strategy games founded by industry veterans such as Greg Foertsch, who previously worked on strategy games XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2.
