While news of the next Star Wars movie — titled Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker — has been dominating headlines as of late, an entirely different Star Wars project was revealed this weekend at Star Wars Celebration, and like the next movie, this newly-announced project will be releasing later this year.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the next AAA Star Wars video game coming from publisher Electronic Arts. However, this time around, EA has tapped an entirely new studio to handle development duties. While Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefront II were created by DICE — best known for their work on the Battlefield series — Fallen Order will be developed by Respawn Entertainment. Aside from creating the Titanfall franchise, Respawn has recently bounced back into the spotlight with the release of their free-to-play battle royale, Apex Legends, which is also published by EA.
As reported by Polygon , Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will allow players to take control of an entirely new hero. Cal Kestis (played by Cameron Monaghan, who portrays the Joker/Jeremiah Valeska on Gotham ) is a new Jedi-in-training, who accidentally reveals his Force powers during a workplace accident. As a result, he finds himself a target of Emperor Palpatine’s Order 66, the Jedi extermination plan which unfolded during Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Stig Asmussen, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s creative director, described the game’s premise and direction during a panel at Star Wars Celebration.
“This is an action-melee game,” Asmussen explained.
“You play as a Jedi on the run, in training with a lightsaber and Force powers. We made sure that the combat is something that is easy to pick up but also, if you put a lot of time in, you can master it. We call the combat in the game ‘thoughtful combat.’ You have to size up your enemies and exploit their weaknesses.”
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order puts a new hero on the run when it launches later this year. Meet Cal Kestis. #StarWarsCelebration https://t.co/EoUAcztWjv pic.twitter.com/MRc4w1l9gh
— Polygon (@Polygon) April 13, 2019
Fans of singleplayer games can rejoice, as Respawn Entertainment founder Vince Zampella confirmed that Fallen Order will not feature any multiplayer modes or microtransactions — a stark contrast to DICE’s Battlefront series.
“This is a Jedi fantasy story ,” Zampella explained at a panel.
“I think we’re known for being multiplayer shooter guys, that’s not what this is about.”
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is set to release later this year on November 15, one month before Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters. Fallen Order will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PCs.
