Officially announced just before 2025’s Star Wars Celebration Japan, EA and Respawn Entertainment will soon have players return to the Clone Wars with the upcoming Star Wars Zero Company. A single-player turn-based tactics game akin to Gears Tactics and XCOM in terms of gameplay, Star Wars Zero Company will have players command members of the professionals for hire as they take part in battles, “...fought in the shadows.”
While many fans are excited to return to the Clone Wars and witness a new story filled with a diverse cast of characters, many others are calling for Lucasfilm Games to develop games more similar to those made by LucasArts. In this sense, Lucasfilm Games may want to strive to make games set parallel to events depicted in Star Wars films.
Star Wars Zero Company Has Two Ceilings to Shatter After Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Star Wars Zero Company seems to be a return to more traditional turn-based tactics, especially following Marvel's Midnight Suns' zany design.
The Various Time Periods of Disney-era Star Wars Games
Following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in late 2012 and the subsequent shuttering of LucasArts in 2013, Disney provided EA exclusive rights to make Star Wars video games for the next several years. These changes initially resulted in the cancellation of many Star Wars game sequels and original titles set in the Star Wars Legends timeline, save for continued expansions developed for the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, it wasn’t long before EA and its developers quickly began working on entirely new games for the Disney-era of Star Wars, starting with 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront. A reboot of Pandemics Studios’ celebrated first and third-person shooter games, 2015’s Battlefront lacked a campaign and only centered on the original trilogy era of Star Wars films.
Like 2015’s Battlefront, many Disney-era Star Wars games were developed with online multiplayer as their primary focus, as seen with Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Star Wars: Hunters, and Star Wars: Uprising. While these featured little expansion of canon Star Wars lore, other Star Wars games began to feature single-player narrative campaigns akin to those developed under LucasArts, including:
- 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront 2
- Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Star Wars: Squadrons
- Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series
All of these aforementioned games took place following the rise of the Galactic Empire and were set between films. For example, Outlaws is set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
The Charm of Star Wars Games Set Parallel to Films
During LucasArts’ control of Star Wars game production, many classic Star Wars games were set during the enthralling events of the original saga and introduced new, if sometimes lore-confounding, perspectives on famous scenes. For instance, 1996’s Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire took place simultaneously and briefly following Empire Strikes Back, showcasing how Dash Rendar aided the Rebel Alliance in the Battle of Hoth. Similarly, 2005’s Star Wars: Republic Commando briefly took place simultaneously with Attack of the Clones, spotlighting the more tactical and brutal side of the First Battle of Geonosis through the eyes of Delta Squad. Some games were even adaptations and slight expansions of films, such as The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith game.
While a few Disney-era games have taken place parallel to the Star Wars films, namely the LEGO Star Wars games and the beginning of 2017’s Battlefront 2 campaign, most have chosen to explore time periods and events set between the films. This has resulted in the creation of many fan-favorite characters and stories as well as helped expand the ever-growing lore of Disney canon, but there’s still an immense charm to games taking place parallel to the movies. For many fans, games like Shadows of the Empire or Republic Commando helped ensure certain films became their favorite, and they were delighted to take part in famous scenes themselves, such as taking down Hoth’s AT-ATs.
Potential New Star Wars Games Set Parallel to Films
Since Disney acquired Star Wars, five theatrical Star Wars films have been created, with the sixth, The Mandalorian and Grogu, expected to debut in May 2026. With an upcoming total of 12 live-action Star Wars films, Disney and Lucasfilm Games have ample opportunities to develop new titles set parallel to them. For example, Disney could develop a game following a First Order Stormtrooper from The Force Awakens to Rise of Skywalker as they become disillusioned during the Battle of Ansett Island. Another potential game could follow the Knights of Ren during the sequel trilogy with the newly introduced Tava Ren being a possible protagonist. Games such as these could work in tandem with those set in between movies like Star Wars Zero Company to make truly great Star Wars game experiences.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based Strategy, Tactical, Sci-Fi
