Oh man, so picture this: Just before 2025, just as everyone’s buzzing about the Star Wars Celebration in Japan, EA and Respawn Entertainment drop a bombshell announcement. We’re talking a new game that takes us back to the Clone Wars—Star Wars Zero Company. Now, if you’re into games like Gears Tactics or XCOM, this is right up your alley. It’s all about those turn-based tactics, but with a Star Wars twist. You’ll be running these shadowy missions as some kind of mercenary commander. Sounds intense, right?
Some fans, they’re thrilled, you know? Can’t wait to dive back into that Clone Wars vibe with some fresh faces. But then there are others—oh boy, these folks, they’re yearning for the good ol’ LucasArts days when games were more like the movies. It’s like, do we want nostalgia or innovation? Who knows, really.
So, quick rewind to when Disney snagged Lucasfilm in 2012. Poof — LucasArts gone by 2013. EA takes over with the keys to the Star Wars kingdom, crafting all sorts of new games. Remember 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront? A total reboot of Pandemic Studios’ classics, but without the campaign—it was like, “Let’s just focus on shootin’ stuff.”
And then online multiplayer took over—with games like Galaxy of Heroes and Hunters. Sure, they were fun, but didn’t really expand the Star Wars storyline like LucasArts games did. However, we did get some cool single-player stories later on, like Jedi: Fallen Order, and more. Oh, and Star Wars Outlaws, that’s set somewhere between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Wild stuff.
Traveling a bit back to the days of LucasArts, those games—they had this knack for weaving into the movie timeline. Take Shadows of the Empire in 1996. You got to be Dash Rendar fighting at the Battle of Hoth. Or Republic Commando, which flips the script on Attack of the Clones with a more hardcore, tactical twist. These games gave us new perspectives, totally blew minds sometimes.
But with Disney now steering the ship, most games ventured between the films. Sure, we got some epic characters and plot lines, but there’s this unique charm, y’know? It’s like reenacting those legendary scenes yourself.
Fast forward again, and what do we get? Disney’s whipped up five new Star Wars films, with one more, The Mandalorian and Grogu, slated for 2026. Just imagine the possibilities! We could be seeing new games overlapping with these stories. Like maybe following a disillusioned Stormtrooper during the First Order days, or diving into the saga of the Knights of Ren. The ideas are endless. Mixing these game concepts with stuff like Zero Company could just be the perfect recipe for Star Wars gaming goodness.