On October 30, 2012 there was an awakening in the force: Disney acquired Lucasfilm, reconsidered the role by veteran LucasArts and delegated to Electronic Arts the responsibility of carrying Star Wars to the videogames. At least, for a decade. Logically, there were collateral effects. Some of these were good, we won’t deny it, and others not too much.
Seven years later, Respawn brought to the table Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. An action title like the ones that are no longer made. No multiplayer, no micropayments. A lone hero ready to take on an entire empire with a blaster, a droid and a lightsaber. A fascinating return to the essence of the best LucasArts games.
Because, we will not deny it, classics like Shadows of The Empire O The power of force They have fascinated generations of gamers and fans of the galactic saga. But also other titles considered cult such as Dark Forces o Jedi Power Battles. And in a way Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order it has a little bit of all of them.
At this point, it could be implied – wrongly – that it has not opted to explore these kinds of experiences. Recover what you have liked in the past or go in new directions. The reality, on the other hand, is that there were projects that did not suffer the same fate as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Seven Star Wars games that never were
Although it may not seem like it, cancellations are relatively common in the video game industry. Some of them, most of them, don’t even get promoted. To be shown to the public, at least officially. The reason? Basically because the others, the ones that are announced and get us excited with their cover letter, are even more painful and popular when they fade. And we all lose.
That does not mean that games were not canceled before, of course. They are there Star Wars: Imperial Commando (canceled in 2004) or a third of Star Wars: Battlefront which passed to Free Radical before being canceled in 2008. Like any big-name studio, LucasArts also had to decide what to release under their label and what to discard..
As an example, and under these lines, you have 20 canceled Star Wars video game logos. Aftermath, new ideas and, if you look closely, an idea for an alternate Episode VII: Star Wars: Shadows of the Sith
At iGamesNews we are passionate about Star Wars and always we have closely followed his career in videogames. The ones that made it to our consoles and PCs and the projects that fell before Cal Kestis struck the table with his not so usual game proposal in these times. And that is why we have prepared a very special list.
We have gathered in one place all Star Wars games canceled, whether they were announced or not, with a cut-off point: the year 2012. That is, the year of LucasFilm’s purchase, and that Disney took control of the saga. But also, technically, the starting point of the current generation.
Some of the following titles will sound familiar to you. Others will be a discovery, and we will always be left wondering whether they would have worked commercially. But, for the part that touches us, we resist leaving these adventures and heroes in total oblivion that – perhaps – never occurred in a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: First Assault (2012)
Cancellation of Star Wars: First Assault It was not much of a mystery: the change in the LucasArts business model after the Disney acquisition cut the wings of the project, which was being developed internally.
In the playable, First Assault it was in a fairly mature phase. What’s more, it doesn’t take long to find gameplay with the closed betas that there were. And the truth is that, despite having the dubious honor of being the first game canceled within this new stage of Star Wars in video games, this shooter aimed quite high.
Star Wars 1313 (2013)
Cancellation of Star Wars 1313 it was deservedly sounded. LucasArts put honey on our lips with a very ambitious third-person action proposal intended for a more mature audience.
It was announced in 2012 and canceled just a year later. Star Wars 1313 can boast of having been one of the last great projects of LucasArts, since in addition the entire company was involved in the project, including Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation e incluso Skywalker Sound.
Star Wars Outpost (2013)
Not all projects Star Wars canceled were related to major productions and action titles. In fact, the not so well known Star Wars Outpost it was a minor project with the potential to be especially lucrative.
Developed by the Singapore affiliate of LucasArts, it would be very generous to consider Star Wars Outpost a game of strategy. What’s more, his proposal goes more in parallel with Farmville and others free-to-play of the stick. Of course, with an aspect and depth that were on another level.
Star Wars: Attack Squadrons (2014)
In case of Star Wars: Attack Squadrons it’s really unique. It could be considered the first game of Star Wars developed in the Disney era, with Area 52 Games in charge of the project and the idea of offering a space shooter experience freemium for browsers.
What has happened? In essence, following the conclusions drawn from its beta, held in early 2014, Disney decided not to continue with the project and cancel its launch.
Star Wars: Battle of the Sith Lords (2011)
Known internally as Damage, Red Fly Studio developed a title completely focused on third-person action in which the iconic villain Darth Maul would have the opportunity to show off.
Although its production stopped very shortly before the acquisition of Disney, the developers themselves associated the cancellation of the project to George Lucas’s intentions to sell his company.
Visceral Games’ Ragtag Project (2017)
Upon obtaining the license, Electronic Arts wanted to address all the nuances of the universe Star Wars. Which led Visceral Games to dare with an action and adventure proposal. A kind of Uncharted Star Wars that contrasts with the new series Battlefront by DICE.
Years later, in 2017, the reality of Electronic Arts was different. Offer linear adventures was not among their plans and, as a collateral effect, the cancellation of the project led to the Visceral Games closure.
Two years later, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order it wants to be proof that times have changed, but also a probe for EA’s future plans.
The Open World of EA Vancouver (2019)
Following the closure of Visceral Games, EA communicated that part of the equipment and work produced would be recovered for a new broader experience.
Thus, in October 2017, the Vancouver affiliate of Electronic Arts began development of an open world based on the Star Wars license with part of the Ragtag project team and what worked on it. Including his art and some assets.
One year and two months later, and according to three different sources related to the project, the definitive cancellation of this new game of Star Wars. Coinciding, chance or not, with the departure of Jade Raymond from EA.
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