Star Wars is currently trying to start another renaissance in pop culture, and gaming looks to be one of the next mediums to see mass expansion. With EA's tenure with exclusive publishing rights to the IP in video games coming to a close, more studios will be taking a stab at the galaxy far, far away. Ubisoft already confirmed one of their upcoming games will be a story-driven, open-world Star Wars game developed by Massive Entertainment.
Meanwhile, Aspyr Media is heavily suggested to be working on a Knights of the Old Republic remake, which is perhaps the best gaming news for the franchise if things turn out as hoped. However, fans likely want more variety with more publishers/developers getting their chance at Star Wars. Here's why a Sith-focused game would be more than welcome.
The Jedi Get Plenty Of Exposure
The Sith are obviously shown notably in the major Star Wars projects, particularly the mainline movies. Since they're the villains and Dark-side counterpart to the Light-side Jedi, it's only natural, but a story that has the former as a main focus and character would be a refreshing change of pace.
With Lucasfilm getting more creative with the franchise in order to be able to expand on TV so much with a variety of characters premises, a video game could work wonders from this new point of view. The revival of LucasArts through the Lucasfilm Games brand could be a great start to usher in a new inventive era for Star Wars on this platform, giving more unconventional, thrilling content.
A 'Fallen Order'-Style Sith Game
Whether EA would make this hypothetical game or not isn't the biggest point, but Jedi: Fallen Order certainly built the foundation for how a game like this could work. It doesn't have to tie in narratively per se, but gameplay-wise a Sith-focused Star Wars game would be exciting--and it could have its own story independent of Cal Kestis'.
The lightsaber combat was handled well, so if a developer could improve upon and add new mechanics to this formula, it would already be off to a great start. Plus, expanding upon Fallen Order's metroidvania elements would surely make story and character progression even more engaging. A game like this would be a great excuse to put metroidvanias back in the triple-A gaming space.
The Acolyte May Set The Groundwork
The High Republic was revealed a year ago to be the next new era in Star Wars canon to be explored--albeit mostly in books. But in December 2020, Lucasfilm announced on the Disney Investor Day that one of the 10 (!) Disney+ TV series set to debut within the next few years is The Acolyte that is--surprisingly--set during the High Republic's waning days.
Its plot is apparently surrounding the reemergence of the Dark side as the Republic and Jedi's galactic renaissance comes to a close. Depending on what that story does, it could be a great pathway to expand upon the Dark side's lore through a game centering on the Sith. The groundwork may be there for it, and it could detail the rise of the Sith in the shadows of the unsuspecting Jedi.
Darth Bane & The Rule Of Two
One concept that's remained canon--and just barely one Sith Lord--thanks to the Skywalker Saga is the Rule of Two. The progenitor of this was Darth Bane, who sought to bring them back to glory by eradicating the current Sith, using the Rule of Two as the foundation. Sith Lords were infamously power-hungry and hyper-competitive, so they'd mostly end up betraying each other for power, weakening their rule.
Bane standardized there only being two Sith at once: Master and Apprentice; one to hold the power, one to crave it. "Regicide" is inevitable, but maintaining balance of two was far more organized--in a twisted sense. Bane's novel trilogy is non-canon, but a game about Darth Bane constructing a new Order by killing off "establishment" Sith sounds narratively thrilling.
'Darth Bane' Sequel With Darth Zannah
Would such a game release and succeed, a sequel could take a natural next step through inspiration of the books. After destroying the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness and starting his own Sith Order with the Rule of Two in play, Bane becomes Master and takes on an Apprentice in Darth Zannah.
While the infighting was mostly mitigated, Apprentices eventually try to overthrow the Master, so a sequel could detail playable Zannah's rise and eventual victory over Bane to become the new Dark Lord. The Acolyte may be a path to this, but the reported KotOR remake could link to a "Darth Bane/Rule of Two" game series since Bane begins through Revan's teachings in a Holocron.
Spiritual Revival Of The Canceled Maul Game
A fan-favorite character, particularly after Dave Filoni fleshed him out, is Maul. He was an exciting, albeit shallow villain in The Phantom Menace, but Filoni's The Clone Wars and Rebels beautifully gave him a resonant arc. Among several project casualties before/after Disney's acquisition was a Maul game, cruelly enough.
He may get more content with Lucasfilm's mass expanse of the franchise post-IX, but he'd also make a great focal point in an action-adventure game. The story could be his years as a Sith under Darth Sidious before Episode I. Even with comics, it'd be easier to not step on any of the Clone Wars/Rebels events.
Post-III, Pre-IV Darth Vader
It's surprising this hasn't happened yet, though with EA no longer holding the Star Wars IP publishing rights hostage, perhaps it's something that could be explored. The one possible issue would be that Darth Vader has quite the catalog of supplemental materials--e.g. comics--but given the decades between Episode III and IV, it could be circumvented without accidental retcons.
A game could delve into Vader during the Dark Times/Great Jedi Purge as he enforced galactic imperial rule and hunted exiled Jedi post-Order 66. Even adapting some stories from the comics would surely still be welcome, as there are great ones and Star Wars is primarily known on-screen, even if not necessarily gaming; same for Maul.
KotOR Remake
Assuming the reported Knight of the Old Republic remake ends up the way fans would likely hope, this could end up being a game that offers this perspective. The originals had a morality system that allowed the player to choose which side of the Force to align themselves with.
A modern-day KotOR RPG with the technical advancements that the PS5, Xbox Series X, and high-end PCs provide would elate fans of the Xbox classics, and using dialogue/story choices would make a great "Sith" game. Though, given the RPG genre that should be used, the choices offered to the player to mold their character need a notable impact on branching narratives to corresponding Dark-side directions.
Darth Malgus
Fans were given a taste of how powerfully cinematic a game like this could work when BioWare released the "Deceived" trailer for The Old Republic MMORPG. It gave a CGI look at the Sacking of Coruscant, with Darth Malgus himself. It built hype, and Malgus was even given an novel coinciding with this part of the Old Republic timeline.
After this potential KotOR remake, a game that jumps further along that era could explore other notable characters post-Revan. And from the Sith POV, Malgus is a great candidate for a story to be remade into canon.
Dark Jedi
Another option for Sith-focused games is to dive into the origins of them. They originated as Jedi, but were exiled from the Order and enslaved an alien species who were originally referred to as "Sith." That's where the term Dark Jedi originated, as they had yet to establish a Sith Order.
Naturally, a game like this would be a prequel to an upcoming KotOR remake, with the player being among the exiled Jedi. These possibilities would be a great way for the Old Republic to be explored in a different medium, similar to the High Republic.