Electronic Arts recently announced layoffs and reduced five percent of its workforce. It was also said to move away from working on licensed intellectual property in the future and officially cancel the highly anticipated Star Wars Mandalorian game.
The game was said to be a first-person title and would focus on a bounty hunter, but it got shelved to the fan’s dismay. While the publisher canceled the Mandalorian game, it is still working on other Star Wars games, including one strategy title that nobody is really interested in.
The Star Wars Strategy Game Is Still in the Works
Back in 2022, EA announced that it is working on several Star Wars games, including a strategy game that is being developed in partnership with Respawn Entertainment and Bit Reactor. With the layoffs and cancellation of the Mandalorian title, it was speculated that this title would also have been canceled, but it has survived, and the development is moving forward.
Bit Reactor revealed earlier this month that the game is unaffected by the layoffs at EA and that the developer is “hard at work” on it. It also added that the game will be revealed “as soon as it’s ready.” There is not much information about the game, and it also doesn’t have a launch date yet.
Moreover, Bit Reactor is also hiring people to work on the game. As per a job listing, the developer is looking for a Senior Lighting Artist to join the team at the studio and help in “exploring and expanding the Star Wars universe.” The game is described as featuring “diverse environments, memorable characters, and a rich and exciting story.”
The game is confirmed to use Unreal Engine 5, as the role requires the person to work on “lighting various levels and cinematics using Lumen in Unreal Engine 5” and also have experience working on Unreal Engine 4+.
Why Was the Mandalorian Game Cancelled by EA?
The Mandalorian game was said to be in the early stages of development and was nearly two years away from release, but has now been canceled. The exact reason for the cancellation cannot be said unless EA itself comments on it, but it is reported that the company felt the game was too big a financial risk and decided to shelve it.
It is also speculated that one of the reasons behind the publisher pulling the plug on the game is licensing. It is said that even if the game was a success, EA would have had to pay a large fee for the licensing of the IP, and it probably did not want to, and this aligns with the company’s decision to move away from developing games on licensed IP.
The Mandalorian game would have offered a linear experience, and players would have played as a Mandalorian bounty hunter looking for bounties across the galaxy. The combat was described as fast-paced and had a takedown feature like the one seen in DOOM. However, the dreams of playing the game have been shattered now.
What are your thoughts as EA continues development on the Star Wars strategy game? Let us know in the comments.
