According to recent claims, Star Wars Eclipse might not see a release until at least 2026. Detroit: Become Human developer Quantic Dream unveiled a new Star Wars game set in the period of the High Republic at this month’s Game Awards 2021 livestream event with an impressive CGI trailer that showcased several interesting locations within the fabled Galaxy Far, Far, Away.
It wasn’t long before Star Wars Eclipse faced backlash from fans, particularly due to allegations of abuse and discrimination surrounding Quantic Dream and its co-CEO David Cage. Mere days after Star Wars Eclipse was first announced, fans took to Twitter to demand that Quantic Dream be pulled from the project under the hashtag #BlackoutStarWarsEclipse. Though Star Wars franchise owner Disney has yet to respond to this outcry, issues regarding staff shortages and struggles with Quantic Dream’s game engine are reportedly causing problems for Star Wars Eclipse even after about a year and a half of development time.
According to video game news leaker Tom Henderson, these issues might delay Star Wars Eclipse for a few more years. On Twitter, Henderson revealed that his sources estimate that the game won’t be released until either 2026 or 2027, contrasting with previous rumors claiming the game could be coming sometime around 2024. So far, there is no official word confirming this or the other development issues regarding Star Wars Eclipse, and even Henderson himself has stressed that these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt at the moment.
Very little is known about Star Wars Eclipse’s plot or gameplay as of this writing, but previous rumors have indicated that Quantic Dream will blend its traditional approach of multiple branching narrative paths with more standard action gameplay than its past offerings. The Game Awards 2021 Star Wars Eclipse trailer hinted at the appearance of the Prequel Trilogy’s Trade Federation and the legendary Jedi Master Yoda, and fans have speculated that it could feature Emperor Palpatine’s Star Wars Sith master Darth Plagueis. What is officially known is that Star Wars Eclipse will take place during the High Republic, a new era set roughly 200 before the Skywalker Saga, which has been explored through various books and comics over the past year.
While neither Quantic Dream nor Disney have officially set a release date for Star Wars Eclipse, Tom Henderson’s rumors of a 2026 launch pose a slight contradiction to his previous claims that the game will take about three or four years to develop. The original comments had many expecting a 2024 launch at the very earliest, though Henderson did say at the time that this was a conservative estimation. The alleged development issues could lead to further delays for the game, as could the backlash over the Star Wars Eclipse studio. In any case, it looks like fans might have to wait a while before they can explore the High Republic in Star Wars Eclipse.
Source: Tom Henderson/Twitter