Electronic Arts is rumored to have a new Star Wars video game in development, and it can certainly learn an important lesson from The Mandalorian. As much as people love the Force and lightsabers, they aren't the only things in Star Wars. The franchise has an incredibly rich and expansive universe with limitless possibilities, and its criminal underworld is home to a lot of it.
EA first acquired the license to create Star Wars games through a 10-year agreement with Disney in 2013. In that time, EA hasn't quite maximized the opportunity. Star Wars Battlefront and its sequel stirred up quite a bit of controversy before managing to right the ship, and Star Wars: Squadrons was a decent flight simulator released last month, but many fans have been longing for expansive, single-player Star Wars adventures. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, which released in 2019, was EA's first real effort to deliver on that front and it was one of the best games of the year.
According to a job listing that has since been revised, EA Motive is hiring a software developer to work on a new Star Wars "action game" that is already in development. Whatever this game happens to be, it should be taking lessons from The Mandalorian. Fans were upset over the cancellation of games like Star Wars 1313 and Visceral Games' "Project Ragtag" because they were going to be built around bounty hunters and scoundrels, rather than the Jedi. The Mandalorian has become wildly popular not because of flashy lightsaber fights, but because it's a gritty look at some of the unseen elements of Star Wars. The Force is still involved as a part of the story, but the series is focused around regular people operating within the underworld.
Star Wars Games Need To Visit Its Interesting Underworld
Star Wars is a franchise designed for kids, and, as a result, it has always toyed with the line of going too far. There are many dark themes found within the franchise; xenophobia, slavery, drug trading and sex trafficking are all portrayed or suggested on a regular basis, and it's these concepts that create an incredibly interesting underworld within the Star Wars universe. The galaxy is large, and the Jedi are a small group within it, so the issues outside their circles are ones a lot of common people have to deal with. Even Han Solo, one of the franchise's most popular characters, was wrapped up in it. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a fairly old game that put players right into the middle of this criminal underbelly, and many fans desperately want more of it.
Instead of retreading similar Star Wars story beats, EA should take a look at why The Mandalorian has been so successful and adapt those concepts to a game. Jedi Fallen Order is rumored to have a sequel in development, so it should do something different than just making another lightsaber game: Put a blaster in the player's hands, drop them right in the middle of a crime syndicate and really add something to the Star Wars universe. Crimson Dawn, the criminal organization led by Maul, has yet to be explored within canon and would serve as a fantastic foundation for a game covering these themes. Star Wars has an incredible universe where stories like The Mandalorian can thrive, and they would make for an exceptional video game.