Fans of intense lightsaber action have a huge announcement to look forward to in 2019, as Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be revealed at Star Wars Celebration this April. While this latest development is only an announcement of an announcement, Respawn Entertainment is the studio that masterminded Apex Legends, this year’s sleeper battle royale hit, and the gaming world is accordingly waiting with bated breath to see what they can do within the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, announced during last year’s EA showcase at E3, is the third offering on major platforms being published by EA as part of its exclusive ten-year Star Wars licensing deal with Disney. Those who have been keeping up with the deal know that EA has produced a painfully slow trickle of Star Wars games since its start, with many calling on Disney to revoke EA’s exclusive rights. However, Disney has clarified that it has every intention of following through on its end of the bargain. Though EA’s recent decision to shut down Visceral Games and its work on an unreleased open-world Star Wars game made many fear that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order would face potential delays or cancellation, this latest news confirms that the upcoming game is still slated to launch this fall.
During today’s episode of the official Star Wars Show, hosts Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni announced that the first details about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be revealed at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, which runs between April 11-15. The duo states that “a whole plethora of Star Wars games” will be present in some form at this year’s Star Wars Celebration, with the most noteworthy being “an exclusive first look” at Respawn’s highly anticipated title on April 13. Teasing players of what’s to come, they outline the center of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s story, affirming that it “follows a Padawan who survived Order 66 as they explore the galaxy in the time after the fall of the Jedi Order.”
Respawn has more than proven itself as a studio, having received critical acclaim for its massive improvements on the Titanfall series formula in Titanfall 2 and recently setting the massively popular battle royale genre alight with Apex Legends, so fans are fairly justified in hopping aboard the hype train for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order even though there’s so much about it that remains unknown. Considering Respawn was originally comprised of veterans of Call of Duty’s golden age, and given Titanfall’s multiplayer focus, it would be wholly unprecedented if multiplayer doesn’t exist somewhere near the core of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Nevertheless, the studio proved its aptitude for forging a highly memorable single-player experience with Titanfall 2’s bombastic campaign, so a strong story focus can’t necessarily be ruled out for the approaching Star Wars offering.
With only one other rumored Star Wars-licensed title waiting for gamers later this year, it almost goes without saying that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has quite a lot riding on it. If EA is as keen as it claims to be on continuing to enjoy its one-of-a-kind relationship with Disney, Respawn’s game will have to not only impress, but sell. However, if the mega success out of left-field that is Apex Legends is anything to go on, Respawn has a real shot at righting EA’s sinking ship once again.
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Source: EA Star Wars
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20
