The history ofStar Warsis nearly as long as that of video games themselves. With over 100 video games across 45 years, there is no shortage ofStar Warsfor gamers to enjoy. With a wide variety in platform, theme, and adherence to canon, fans of the galaxy far, far away can almost always find a game that suits their needs. Unfortunately, not everyStar Warsgame is lucky enough to make it to release.
The history ofgaming in theStar Warsuniverse is full of canceled projects. Some of these tragic tales were little more than concepts or pitches, while others died well into the development phase. In total, 33Star Warsgames have been fully canceled so far, with some well-known entries deeply mourned by theStar Warscommunity.
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Star Wars: 1313
Star Wars: 1313is perhaps the most well-known of the canceledStar Warsvideo games. Originally revealed at E3 in 2012,Star Wars: 1313was marketed as a gritty third-person shooter with platform and playable cinematic gameplay similar toUncharted. A full trailer, screenshots, and gameplay footage at various stages of development exists - withsomeStar Wars:1313footage having appeared as late as January 2022.
The original concept ofStar Wars: 1313had players control an unidentified bounty hunter in the depths of the planet-city Coruscant, and was full of criminal conspiracies and seedy nightlife. However, George Lucas wanted the game to focus instead on a younger Boba Fett. To accommodate,Star Wars: 1313planned to have Boba Fettkill the original character early on, with the player then taking over as the Mandalorian headhunter for the remainder of the game.
Unfortunately, with Disney’s acquisition ofStar Warsin 2012, the fate ofStar Wars: 1313was called into question, though reports from GameSpot indicate other production difficulties may have played a factor as well. The project was scrapped in 2013, with the trademark fully abandoned in 2014. The following year, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy saidmaterial forStar Wars:1313and its canceled companion TV series,Star Wars: Underworld, could still be developed in some way in the future.
Battle of the Sith Lords
Though not as far-along in development as1313was,Battle of the Sith Lordswas no less infamous. Developed by Red Fly Studio, this project, periodically codenamed “Damage” and “Maul,” was to be a violent third-person action game in the style ofArkham AsylumandThe Force Unleashed.
Red Fly was not told any details of the game beyond its title, and that it was to feature Darth Maul as the main character. LucasArts gave Red Fly little guidance - itdidn’t even tell the developers of Darth Maul’s future role inStar Wars: The Clone Wars. With no direction, Red Fly instead focused on the gameplay aspects ofBattle of the Sith Lords, resulting in some prototype footage.
Battle of the Sith Lordsfloundered for some time, struggling to nail down a concept. Various concepts included an origin story, aClone Warscompanion story, and even a tale set 170 years in the future, with a descendent of Darth Maul fighting alongside Darth Talon against Darth Krayt, two characters from the comic seriesStar Wars Legacy. Like1313, theDisney acquisition was the death knell forBattle of the Sith Lords, though it is hard to say if the game would have stabilized on its own otherwise.
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The Star Wars Sequels that Never Were
Over the years, several popularStar Warsvideo games had planned sequels that never happened. While some of these spawned spiritual successors, the tried-and-true sequels have a place of honor in the graveyard ofStar Warstitles.
The Force Unleashed 3was another victim of the Disney acquisition. Canceled in 2013, this sequel would have concluded the story of Starkiller in an open-world co-op game. Players would play as Starkiller or Vader as they reluctantly team up to combat the Emperor’s schemes and minions, including Boba Fett. Unfortunately, the game was canceled in 2013 before the concept art stage.
Free Radical planned to continue its originalBattlefrontseries before it was canceled in 2008 due to a falling-out between the developer and LucasArts.Battlefront 3was to have seamless ground-to-space battles, while early concept art fromBattlefront 4suggested it would focus on “what if” scenarios, including dark side Luke Skywalker. Rumors of missed deadlines, late payments, and embezzlement stalk the project, which was reportedly “97% complete” before its cancelation. In 2012,playtest footage ofBattlefront 3surfaced online. Though DICE rebooted theBattlefrontseries with installments in 2015 and 2017, it currently has no plans to release aBattlefront 3of its own.
Asequel toStar Wars: Republic Commando– the 2005 tactical shooter companion to the novels by Karen Traviss – was canceled before its predecessor even launched. The sequel had two competing pitches:Imperial Commando, which would focus on an Empire-aligned commando unit fighting against the Rebel Alliance and the Jedi, andRebel Commando, focusing instead on survivors ofRepublic Commandofighting against the Empire. Unfortunately, between lukewarm reception ofRepublic Commandoand retcons from theClone WarsTV series, the project never went beyond concept art.
Knights of the Old Republichas been in the spotlight recentlybecause of the remake whose own fate is currently in question.Knights of the Old Republic 3was canceled some time after 2004 due to, according to designer Jon Stafford, “a difficult period in the company’s history.” Concepts and art pointed the story towards a new player character following Revan’s footsteps as he journeyed into unknown reaches to battle ancient, powerful Sith lords. Considering the plot points fromStar Wars: The Old Republic,which features both Revan and Vitiate/Valkorion, an ancient Sith lord, it is easy to see how BioWare may have taken inspiration from these early concepts with its MMORPG.
Back in 2003, LucasArts canceled plans to release Jedi Knight 3: Brink of Darkness,a sequel toJedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Like its predecessors, players would have controlled Kyle Katarn in the finale of his story. Unfortunately,afterJedi Knight: Jedi Academy, which featured Kyle Katarn as an NPC and mentor of a customizable main character, LucasArts decided not to go through with the project.
Other concepts from the other two dozen canceled games range from scum-and-villainy space pirate romps andRogue Squadronspin-offsto an anthology of Rebellion-themed action games. With luck, futureStar Warsgames won’t have the misfortune of joining their ill-fated predecessors on the cutting room floor.
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