Hardly any trailer triggered such emotions during the Game Awards as the one for Star Wars Eclipse – finally a single-player game in the Star Wars universe again! And then also one with such an exciting scenario, as expert Dimi thinks.
However, the development is according to an insider already under a bad star. And that, although the release is supposed to be a long way off anyway. The rumor originated by journalist Tom Henderson, which is known for numerous leaks and inside game details but not always got it right in the past. You should treat the statements accordingly with caution, even if he is usually well informed and networked.
He explains why it could be a long time before we get our hands on Star Wars Eclipse (if at all). We summarize the statements for you and analyze what could be true.
What’s wrong with Star Wars Eclipse?
Tom Henderson breaks down the rumors in this YouTube video:
Link to YouTube content
According to him, the information comes from reliable but anonymous sources who know about the plans and work at developer Quantic Dream, as well as voices from the Internet, which he includes directly in the video. The bottom line is that the development of Star Wars Eclipse probably already suffered from difficulties in the pre-production, which may affect the future of the game and the current state
Dispute over toxic work culture
That probably also plays a role in this toxic culture in the workplacewho have favourited Quantic Dream. Several journalists have quoted former employees who compla ined of problematic workload, crunch culture, and sexist and racist behavior, resulting in years of legal battles. Details of the process and the allegations
MMO past: Project Karma
Allegedly, the first concepts for Star Wars Eclipse should go back to 2013. Originally, however, they apparently wanted to develop an MMO, which then in direct competition with Star Wars: The Old Republic and much more ambitious than the android adventure Detroit: Become Human, which Quantic Dream implemented for Sony at the time. The publisher is said to have rejected the Star Wars pitch because it sounded too much like a risk for the studio, which was inexperienced in this area.
Since Quantic Dream then focused on Detroit, Eclipse is said to have been on hold until 2020. That alone is not particularly unusual or dramatic – many studios have pitches and prototypes up their sleeves that couldn’t win a publisher or were discarded for other reasons at an early stage of development.
Old assets, new pitch
After Detroit, Quantic Dream is said to have developed and discarded several concepts before it came to the pitch for Lucasfilm, which was apparently successful. Even if Eclipse is no longer an MMO, at least it should allow numerous assets and concept arts to be easily reused. A source confirms this to Henderson and provides an example – the extraterrestrial creature that you briefly see in the trailer should originally come from Karma.
As a single player adventure with decisions, Eclipse also seems much less ambitious. After all, these are exactly the strengths of the studio. The story is to be created at Quantic Dream in Paris under the leadership of David Cage, while the newly founded studio in Montréal will primarily take care of the playful implementation.
All of this could have convinced the license holder, so that Eclipse was codenamed a little later Solstice
was in the works. We also think that Star Wars and Quantic Dream go well together, but the developer should still learn a few new gameplay tricks so that the Jedi imagination ignites:
more on the subject
For Star Wars Eclipse, Quantic Dream has to rethink
New game, new problems
Even without MMO hurdles, Eclipse apparently brings some problems for the developers, none of which can be felt in the impressive cinematic trailer:
2:49
Star Wars Eclipse – Story-heavy action-adventure announced for the High Republic era
Technical limitations
One factor is supposed to be the in-house engine. This is primarily designed to show very limited levels with only a few NPCs and reduced AI, which is for straightforward adventures like Heavy Rain or Detroit is enough. Apparently, the Star Wars adventure is actually supposed to deliver more and thus pushes the technical fundamentals to their limits. Henderson speaks of one open world spanning several planets
that the studio has to cope with for this.
That would be an extreme step after the linear adventures and an MMO would probably have blown that framework completely. That makes it a bit surprising that Quantic Dream allegedly went into development here with full awareness of the limit of their engine without a plan B. A planned further or new development of the technical basis may have failed due to the budget. It remains to be seen whether this will lead to a new development environment or whether the Star Wars game will be developed in a slimmed-down form, should the rumors be true.
PLUS
24:03
DevPlay: Does your own in-house engine still make sense in times of Unreal and Unity?
Multiplayer problems and little tangible information
Apparently the multiplayer aspect also causes difficulties for the inexperienced developers from the beginning, although it is not entirely clear whether Eclipse in its current form should get multiplayer elements at all. In addition, after more than 18 months there should still be no playable version, because the engine is still causing problems. It is unclear here whether Henderson is referring to a prototype or the entire game. While the former would be quite unsettling, it is less surprising that after this time not everything is fully implemented.
Apparently nobody wants to work there
With Montréal and Paris, Quantic Dream currently has two studio seats. Apparently that’s not enough to get the Star Wars project on the road – topical is becoming more 60 new employees searched. This does not necessarily mean that there are problems either, but it can indicate delays because it simply takes a long time to recruit and train new specialists.
This is not unusual, but Quantic Dream is supposed to struggle to fill the vacancies at all, which could have something to do with the allegations about the working conditions there. According to one source, the development could take another four to five years, if it continues like this. According to Henderson, this could accelerate outsourcing (i.e. handing off parts of the work to external service providers) or a studio purchase by an investor, which Quantic Dream is supposedly aiming at in order to secure the necessary financial resources.
Unfortunately, a fancy trailer does not always provide information about the condition or quality of the game. Perhaps Quantic Dream also wants to inspire investors with it.
(No reason to worry?
The problems Henderson describes are not absurd. If Quantic Dream dares to try a more open, ambitious game based on an MMO vision, it will definitely be a challenge that will require a large budget and possibly additional developers and a different engine. That doesn’t mean the project is bound to fail, but it may take longer than many a fan would like to see it.
Ultimately, it all depends on how different Star Wars Eclipse is from the studio’s previous games. A linear story adventure should involve significantly less risk.
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