Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment's long-awaited Star Wars strategy game will finally be revealed next month. The official Star Wars website confirmed that the game will be revealed during Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025, which runs from April 18th through April 20th.
The currently untitled Star Wars game will specifically be revealed on Saturday, April 19th at the "Bit Reactor Developer Panel featuring Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games." The panel will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. live on the Galaxy Stage.
"Join Bit Reactor, along with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, for a first look at a new Star Wars turn-based tactics game," the panel description teases.
The Star Wars strategy game was first announced back in 2022 but we haven't really heard much about it since then. Bit Reactor, a studio formed when the game was first announced, is leading development of the title with Respawn Entertainment producing. It's being directed by industry veteran Greg Foerstch, the art director for acclaimed strategy games XCOM 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
Although Bit Reactor is a relatively new studio, it's comprised of developers who have worked on some of the industry's biggest titles, including XCOM, Civilization, Gears of War, and Elders Scrolls Online.
GIven that it's been more than two years since the game was first announced, I'm hopeful that we'll some in-depth details about it at Star Wars Japan. The panel simply mentions a "first look" so I'm assuming will be some sort of a reveal trailer followed by a top-level gameplay overview and maybe some light mechanics.
While Star Wars is a huge franchise, not everyone is familiar with the tactics strategy genre in gaming. To be fair, it's somewhat niche, though Foertsch believes it has room to grow.
"I think [tactical strategy], it's a space that honestly has the most room of any genre to grow, through immersion and storytelling and visual presentation and pacing," Foertsch told PC Gamer in June of last year. "It's got a lot of space to innovate in. And so for us, those are kind of the things we focus on. And I think we've made a few games in the past that have displayed those things that are just like tips of icebergs in a lot of cases."
In the same interview, there was mention that the game will offer more of a cinematic experience, though not at the sacrifice of strategy gameplay.
"I think Hector [Antunez, lead animator] and I have a little bit of an axe to grind in general with the genre. There's this idea that depth costs you elegance," Foertsch added. "Like, oh, if it looks prettier, if it's immersive, if it's got a good story, well, something else got compromised. I say no, not really. I think that you can have both. I don't think that complexity equals depth. And I think that that's really what we're focused on. Differentiating that nuance between those two things."
The Star Wars franchise as a whole is known for its cinematic storytelling, and we've seen it done in video games as well. It will be interesting to see how Bit Reactor helps achieve this in a strategy game. No release date or platforms have been confirmed yet, but there are rumors it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.