Editor’s note: This post was updated at 12:10 ET.
Star Wars Uprising, the upcoming mobile RPG game from Kabam, promises to be an interesting exercise for Disney. The Mouse is already adapting the franchise to break into the emerging market for virtual reality games, and this could be its way to assert an early dominance over mobile gaming.
That could be why Uprising, unlike most mobile gaming expansions, actually looks appealing and as if its developers put some time in it.
Set immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi, the game centers on a band of rebels, smugglers and other opponents of the Empire in the Anoat Sector, where Hoth and Bespin are located. Imperial Governor Adelhard, along with his lieutenant Commander Bragh, are trying to deceive the general population of the system that the Empire has defeated the rebels, and as such they’ve blockaded the entire system to prevent anyone from leaving. It falls to our heroes to stop him.
The game’s beta is reportedly already in progress, with a tentative release date set for September 2015.
UPDATE: It seems that the beta for Uprising recently kicked off, as a handful of gameplay videos are slowly leaking onto YouTube. The best one is probably this 20-minute clip from YouTube user FoXX !, which covers the game’s opening and beginning levels. The video shows how players can create a character from three species: Human, Zabrak or Twi’lek, with male and female versions available.
The video then shows the first few levels on one of the new planets featured in the game, the mining planet Burnin Konn. The player’s character is interacting with Riley, one of the confirmed new characters created specifically for the game, while on a mission for a gangster called Happy Dapp. It seems Kabam is upholding the Star Wars tradition of terrible villainous names.
Kabam has released both a cinematic trailer and a look at the title’s gameplay, but now we may have a few more images that are from the game thanks to Reddit user dre10g. Based on the videos above, these images are the loading screens for Uprising. Check out the best images in the following gallery, as well as speculation as to what they could mean.
Next: A Clue to C-3PO's Arm in The Force Awakens?
Despite the gorgeous artwork you’ll see over the next few slides, this is the most startling image in the gallery. Not only does this image seem to indicate C-3PO will appear in Uprising, but it offers our first clue at why C-3PO is wearing a red arm in images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
C-3PO certainly has lost parts of his body before, but now his latest injury lines up with the limb dismemberment theme that runs throughout the Star Wars franchise. But what caused the protocol droid to lose his arm? And is there any significance to the color of his replacement?
Next: Stormtroopers in Disguise
This appears to be concept art for the game. But I have my doubts that these guys are actual stormtroopers. I get the feeling, especially since one of them is in the middle of putting on his armor, that these are rebels or other opponents of the Empire putting on their disguises in preparation of some type of raid or escape.
Next: The Unnamed Hero
While we know of five main characters within the game, we don’t who this person is, although he’s front and center on the game’s main promotional image. He has the appearance of a bounty hunter or smuggler but not necessarily a Rebel sympathizer.
The world he’s on looks very similar to Tatooine, although this game is supposed to take place in another sector of the galaxy. We have another indicator of the Empire’s presence on this world with the T-16 Skyhopper in the background. And finally, his opponent here has a reptilian hand, so it could be a Trandoshan or some other animalian species.
Next: Rebels or Imperials?
Another piece of concept art from the game. If I had to guess, I’d say these were Imperial forces because of the uniforms, but they could be Rebel soldiers as well. The red-tinged background leads one to think that they are on Cloud City. Another clue here is the tiny alien among the squad. Cloud City was a notoriously diverse locale under the nondiscriminatory rule of Lando, so it would make sense that alien creatures are just as ubiquitous as humans.
Next: Hera's Back?
This game will mostly be connected to the events of the original trilogy, but this image definitely gives off some prequel and Star Wars Rebels vibes. That Twi’lek looks suspiciously like Hera, the pilot of the Ghost. And don’t forget the Zabrak next to the human. I would almost definitely say these characters are Rebels of some kind.
Next: New Ship Designs
A squadron of ships look like they’re just coming out of hyperspace. But what faction do they belong to? The two ships at the top of the image and the one near the bottom bear a resemblance to the Republic’s troop transports during the Clone Wars. But the rest are hard to identify. It bears note that the world they’re flying over could be Hoth.
Next: First Look at Hoth?
Speaking of, this could be the very ice planet we just spoke of. But the real mystery is the space station floating above this world, which looks like it has a small city perched on top. Could be an Imperial outpost guarding against anyone hoping to leave the world.
Next: Which Planet is This?
And lastly, this world looks unfamiliar. At first, I thought it was Bespin, but the landscape looks too rocky and volcanic to be the gas world. The floating asteroids kind of smash that theory as well. It most resembles Mustafar, the lava planet from Revenge of the Sith, meaning it could just be that planet’s counterpart transplanted to the Anoat Sector.
Next: The Sad Backstory behind Han and Chewie in The Force Awakens