Summary
- The modern era of Star Wars is full of films and TV shows, but is missing an essential aspect of the franchise.
- Disney shifted focus more onto feature films and less onto other projects, like video games.
- Star Wars can greatly expand the stories and universe with more games.
In a time when Star Wars didn’t have very many movies, the video game medium was there. From the FPS Dark Forces to the RPG Knights of the Old Republic and many, many more, the video game side of the Star Wars universe has immersed fans in the universe for decades. There were multiple genres of games, and they were all focused on different points in the timeline and on various characters, which kept players and fans interested in every new game to see how it would shape the universe.
But that all changed when Disney bought the franchise. The movies and TV shows started coming out at a rapid pace, but the video games slowed down. With a wide array of interesting characters and timelines, such as The High Republic and the Mandoverse, Star Wars not having video games to fit and fill these stories out is a big missed opportunity.
What Happened to Star Wars Games?
Star Wars games had their start in the early 1980s in the arcades and on the Atari 2600. These games were not original stories but rather adaptations of events that happened in the films. It wouldn’t be until the early 1990s that LucasArts would branch out and begin telling original stories set in the universe. One of the first major instances of this is the combat flight simulator X-Wing and Tie Fighter series of games. The games eventually hit the same story as the movies but also tell their own adventures. The early Battlefront games follow this same format – they tell slightly original stories while also letting the player experience the franchise’s major battles.
The gaming side of Star Wars has touched many other genres and eras in the universe. The games range from real-time strategy games such as Empire at War, to first-person shooters such as Dark Forces or Republic Commando, to role-playing games set in the past, such as Knights of the Old Republic, to lightsaber and force combat games such as the Jedi Academy games. But despite the spread of eras the games took, they are still usually skewed to telling stories directly covering or directly related to the events of the films, or prominently featuring characters that are directly from the movies. Even while The Clone Wars was on the air, it had multiple tie-in games that were re-telling stories from the show or used characters and settings from the show to tell new stories.
These games all lasted right up until 2012 when Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney. Upon this acquisition, it was announced that Electronic Arts (EA) had signed a 10-year deal for exclusive rights to Star Wars games. In the past, most games were created by LucasArts, a company created by George Lucas that could create games based on his works. While this is how many of the Star Wars games were created, there were outside companies that would develop games and be officially licensed by Lucasfilm. With EA becoming the exclusive gaming rights holder, it meant a slowdown of games. Between EA getting the rights and their 10-year deal expiring in 2022, they only gave us 4 games – Battlefront, Battlefront II, Squadrons, and Jedi Fallen Order, which got a sequel in 2023.
There’s A Huge Opportunity For Star Wars Games Based on Modern Era Stories
In the time since Disney’s acquisition, they’ve delivered five movies, with more on the way, as well as a multitude of TV shows. One would think that Lucasfilm would want to capitalize on some of these stories with video games as they have done in years past, but that simply is not the case. EA’s first Battlefront game took place entirely in the Original Trilogy era. Battlefront II opened up slightly more by featuring planets, heroes, vehicles, and factions from all three film trilogies and had an original story that was set a few years after Return of the Jedi. Squadrons is a combat flight simulator set post-RotJ just like Battlefront II. Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor are action-adventure games set during the reign of the Empire in between Episodes III and IV. While these games were all solid and had their own pros and cons – they are fairly limited in scope when it comes to the potential that EA could have had.
Meanwhile, The Mandalorian debuted on Disney Plus in 2019 and introduced Din Djarin and Grogu to audiences, who were immediately captivated by them and their story. The universe of The Mandalorian lends itself perfectly to an open-world game in the style of the Red Dead Redemption games. It could take place at various points in Din Djarin’s life that the show doesn’t touch on. Give the player a chance to take control of Din and hop from planet to planet, chasing bounties eventually leading to Grogu. Then, after Din hands Grogu off to Luke, there can be another portion of the game; hunting bounties and being able to wield the Darksaber. While yes, this game would take place during the original trilogy and shortly after, which most of the EA games have focused on, the gameplay style would be totally different from the games released thus far and with a character that audiences already have a deep connection to.
On the publishing front, Lucasfilm debuted The High Republic era in 2021. While not as far back in the timeline as The Old Republic, it does kind of serve as Disney canon’s analog by featuring Jedi in their prime before their downfall in the prequels. The High Republic has been primarily featured in literature but recently has begun branching out to other mediums. There is a Disney Plus show, The Acolyte, which is set to be released in 2024. In addition, a Jedi from the era is featured in Jedi Survivor after being awoken from a cryosleep. The High Republic, though, is the perfect era for a Knights of the Old Republic-style RPG game. Imagine a Skyrim-style game where the player gets to create their own Jedi character, design the robes, lightsaber, etc., and then explore a story set in the High Republic. Getting to have a skill tree where the player can choose whether they focus more on the force or lightsaber combat, as well as featuring plenty of side quests to level up and become a better Jedi. While this does sound similar to the current Jedi games, those games focus more on linear storytelling with a linear evolution skill tree. The High Republic game would give the player more agency in their journey while being a character of their creation.
More Video Games Is Definitely What Star Wars Needs
Video games used to be as much of a backbone for the Star Wars franchise as literature in between movie releases. Many of these games filled out stories in the universe that the movies haven’t explored or gave players a chance to see and experience eras that the movies would never touch. Ever since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, every medium has been abundantly filled with media, except the video game wings.
Audiences have been given great games over the past thirteen years, but the output of games has been the slowest medium when books and comics maintained steady output and movies and TV shows came out more frequently than before the acquisition. While great, the games released have all been very narrow in scope when it comes to timeline and style, unlike the games of the past which had a wide spread. More video games, such as one that takes place in the Mandalorian setting, and one that takes place in The High Republic, have the chance to breathe some excitement into the franchise.
Star Wars
Created by George Lucas, Star Wars began in 1977 with the then-eponymous film that would later be retitled Episode IV: A New Hope. The original Star Wars trilogy centered on Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa, who helped lead the Rebel Alliance to victory over the tyrannous Galactic Empire. This Empire was overseen by Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine, who was aided by the cybernetic menace known as Darth Vader.In 1999, Lucas returned to Star Wars with a prequel trilogy that explored how Luke’s father Anakin Skywalker became a Jedi and eventually succumbed to the dark side of the Force.
- Created by
- George Lucas
- First Film
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
- Latest Film
- Star Wars: Episode XI – The Rise of Skywalker
- First TV Show
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian
- Latest TV Show
- Ahsoka
- Character(s)
- Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Din Djarin, Yoda, Grogu, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Rey Skywalker
