Amid speculation about EA’s plans for theStar Warslicense, a trailer for what appears to be an unannounced RTS based on the franchise is leaked to the internet.
Between early details onthe sequel to last year’sBattlefrontand rumors about what EA might announce at E3, there’s plenty of chatter aboutStar Warsvideo games at the moment. Now, a leaked trailer may well have unveiled a previously unannounced RTS based on the saga.
A video uploaded to Vimeo — and now taken down — depicts a large-scale battle taking place in a location that looks a lot like Tatooine. There are AT-ST walkers, hordes of stormtroopers and even a cameo from the Millennium Falcon, prompting questions about where thisStar Warsfootage has come from.
Since EA took control of the Star Wars license, there’s been all manner of speculation about what the company would do with it. Between the mysterious projects being developed by studios like Visceral and Motive, andpersistent rumors about sequels to cult classics, there’s plenty for fans to discuss — but there had been no word of an RTS.
The video has been attributed to EA audio director Elise Baldwin, who was put in charge of making the game sound likeStar Wars, according to a report fromGamespot. Other videos uploaded to her Vimeo account, where this footage was found, are largely concerned with her work onThe Simsand its spin-offMySims.
The game was apparently in development for more than a year, and switched its platform and engine on more than one occasion during that time. However, it seems that the title has since been cancelled, and will not see release — despite the fact that it looks rather polished in the leaked footage.
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In the past,Star Warshas dabbled with the RTS genre on more than one occasion. Between 2000 and 2006, three unrelated titles were released to a modest or better critical reception;Force Commander,Galactic BattlegroundandEmpire at War.
The genre is really a perfect fit for the property. Large-scale battles on air and land make for some of the most memorable moments from the movies, and an RTS offers up ample opportunities torelive and reimagine those skirmishes— plus, it’s a great excuse to include all kinds of ships, races, and vehicles to appease hardcore fans.
This particularStar WarsRTS may not have made it out of development, but we’ll surely see another attempt to transplant the property to this genre. However, for the meantime, fans can expect some big announcements from EA — perhaps as soon as E3 2016, next month.
