Star Wars: Rise of Skywalkeris out in theatres now, giving fans of the franchise an ending to a story that has been running for more than forty years. And while the critical reception of the film has been mixed so far, audience reviews have been pretty positive. It’s a landmark entry in the franchise, and it has some serious implications for any future games set in theStar Warsuniverse.
SPOILER WARNING. This post contains major spoilers forRise of Skywalker,including the ending.
Rise of Skywalkerreveals a bevy of important information for the franchise as a whole. From the shadows, Emperor Palpatine has been pulling the strings of the entire galaxy,using his powers as a Sith Lord to manipulate the universe and makeFortnitecameos. The end goal, from the very beginning, has been to lure his granddaughter, Rey, who is revealed to be a Palpatine inRise,to him - seducing her to the dark side and turning her into a vessel for every past Sith to inhabit. This would, in turn, transform her into a being of supreme power: a final ruler for the galaxy.
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Of course, this doesn’t come to pass. Ben Solo returns to the light side of the force and aids Rey in destroying the Emperor once and for all, sacrificing himself to do so. Rey travels to Luke’s childhood home on Tattooine, leaving both Luke and Leia’s lightsabers hidden there, and balance is restored to the force. The implication is that the universe has now found peace, and the traditional Jedi Order is no more, as Luke intended. So, what does that all mean forStar Warsgames?
Star Warsgames, traditionally, have rested pretty firmly in under-explored parts of theStar Warstimeline. While many of thebest StarWarsgamesfrom before the Disney acquisition are no longer canon, there’s a tendency to go places that the films simply don’t, with most games opting to take place far before the events of the films, like withKnights of The Old Republic,or between the events ofRevenge of The SithandA New Hope,like with the recentJedi: Fallen Order.TheBattlefrontgames are the notable exception here, but they don’t have any major implications for the larger franchise, as other games with more focused narratives might.
Games set after the events ofRise of Skywalkerseem somewhat unlikely now, or at least games that would set players in the role of a Jedi, at least not with some major explaining of Rey’s new identity and her future. The mainStar Warsstory is now set to go on a hiatus, so it seems unlikely that Disney would want to create a game that could have an effect on its future plans for the franchise. It’s possible that fans could get a smaller scale, side story along the lines ofThe Mandalorian,perhaps set as a bounty hunter or some other type of scoundrel, and it’d be interesting to see how the galaxy recovers.
Yet, it’d be far more interesting to see apost-Disney acquisition game take place in the era ofKnights of The Old Republic.The originals are no longer considered canon, but their contribution to the greaterStar Warsmythos is incredibly important. It would be amazing to see Disney re-canonize a lot of what was lost, and establishing something so far in the past would mean that it could easily exist within the confines of the currentStar Warscanon. Not to mention, it’s something fans have wanted for the past decade and a half, anxiously awaiting another Bioware or ObsidianStar Warsgame.
But it’s unclear whether or not that will be the case. While the company currently has it, there have been rumors thatEA may lose theStar Warslicense, which would, in turn, mean that Disney would have to find a new publisher to make the games. Of course,Jedi: Fallen Orderreviewed well and has seemingly sold well, too. Plus, withBattlefront 2doing a 180 and turning into a stellarStar Warsgame, there’s a good chance that Disney will let EA retain the license, keeping the possibility of a potential Bioware Star Wars game open, at the very least.
At the end of the day, Disney needs content that’s easy to market and sell. Fundamentally, if something couldn’t appear at Galaxy’s Edge, theStar Warssection of Disneyland, then there’s likely no place for it in a game at this point. Most likely, the events inRise of Skywalkermean thatStar Warsgames will continue to be set betweenRevenge of The SithandA New Hope, an era where everything is more or less predestined and easy to control while fitting well with the general content direction currently found inStar Warsmedia. In fact, one of the most likely contenders for another game would be aFallen Ordersequel.
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It is, in a way, playing it safe. Knowing that characters really won’t be able to have an effect on the largerStar Warsuniverse is a tad bit disappointing, but that’s just the nature of a major franchise. Gamers and Disney are going to be equally fickle about what is and isn’t canon in theStar Warsuniverse, so a set up like will most likely keep both parties relatively content, at least for the time being.
There certainly won’t be a drought ofStar Warscontent now that the main movie series is done. If anything, fans will have more to look forward to as Disney works to make the most out of its IP. After all,Star Warsis one of the most recognizable franchises on the planet, and Disney would be foolish to waste it. There are likely many new games in the pipeline for the galaxy far, far away.
