Summary
The upcomingStar Warsstrategy game is still in development, Bit Reactor has confirmed. The studio’s project status update was offered as part of a wider reflection on the recent news of Electronic Arts canceling Respawn’sStar WarsFPS, which was rumored to place the players in the shoes of a Mandalorian bounty hunter.
January 25 marked the two-year anniversary ofEA announcing three newStar Warsgames. Only one of those,Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, has been released so far. The rest of the trio comprised an unnamed FPS from Respawn and a strategy game handled by Bit Reactor—a Maryland studio founded by some former Firaxis developers—with some assistance from Respawn. The former was reportedly canceled in late February as part of the latest round of restructuring at EA.
Although thenews of EA canceling Respawn’sStar WarsFPShas yet to be officially confirmed, Bit Reactor has recently lent credence to the original report on the matter by commenting on it as if it was a done deal. Taking to Twitter over the first weekend of March, the company described last week as another “difficult” period for the industry, stating it was particularly saddened to hear the news of the FPS project’s cancelation due to the “strong relationships” it has fostered with Respawn.
Bit Reactor’s Star Wars Strategy Game Hasn’t Been Canceled
Bit Reactor has also assured fans that its ownStar Warsproject remains in development, stating that the unnamed strategy game has been “unaffected by last week’s news.” Responding to some subsequent fan inquiries on social media, the studio said it still has nothing concrete to share about the game, but promised to do so “as soon as it’s ready.” Much like the reportedly canceled FPS, Bit Reactor andRespawn’sStar Warsstrategy gamehasn’t shared any information following the early 2022 confirmation of its existence.
The restructuring efforts that led to the purported cancelation of theStar WarsFPS have alsoresulted in nearly 700 layoffs across EA. But the Respawn team in charge of the scrapped shooter is reportedly not facing job losses. EA is instead understood to be planning to reassign that group to other projects, including everything from existing games likeApex Legendsto future releases, such as the third entry in theStar Wars Jedifranchise. EA’s upcomingIron ManandBlack Panthergames have also been cited among the potential destinations for the portions of Respawn’sStar WarsFPS team.
Whether this will be the last of EA’s post-pandemic cost-cutting efforts remains to be seen, but it’s far from the first; the gaming giant has already laid off hundreds of employees throughout 2023, on top of not renewing a lot of its contractors, like the 200Apex LegendsQA testers who were left jobless early last year.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other mediums like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
