November 15: Jedi: Fallen Order
Just ignore the fact that the music in this trailer sounds suspiciously like the Avengers theme. From what we’ve seen and heard so far, it’s going to be a game worth checking out.
The story takes place after Revenge of the Sith. The main character, Cal, is a former padawan learner who survived the Jedi Purge and is now in hiding from the Galactic Empire. There may be a special lightsaber involved. Saw Garrera is there. It’s going to be a wild ride.
There’s a lot of skepticism surrounding this game — and its distributor is mostly to blame.
Electronic Arts (EA) does not have the best track record when it comes to Star Wars video and mobile games.
Star Wars Battlefront I and Star Wars Battlefront II are the only console and PC games that have been released since the company acquired the license to produce Star Wars content. They also canceled a highly-anticipated Star Wars project attached to Amy Henning last year.
Jedi: Fallen Order will be the first full Star Wars game EA is releasing — meaning while there might be updates and DLCs added later, it will not be a “pay to win” gaming experience.
Speaking of microtransactions, it’s unlikely gamers will ever forget the controversy surrounding EA’s pay to win model with the release of Battlefront II. They did end up making changes to the game, but it sparked much bigger questions and legal considerations about things like loot boxes in the game development industry.
While skepticism is understandable, what many would-be players are forgetting is that EA is not in charge of developing Fallen Order.
The game is being marketed and distributed by EA, but Respawn Entertainment is the company responsible for developing it. EA owns Respawn, but the latter has a much better reputation when it comes to game development.
Fans of games such as Apex Legends and the Titanfall series might have a little bit more faith in what’s to come. For now, all we can do is hope for an experience worth our dollars.