Star Wars Jedi 3 Release Update

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sold over 10 million copies, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sold around 20 million copies; both have long surpassed $100 million in terms of gross revenue. EA couldn't have hoped for anything else from these two games since both of them were terrific.

Cameron Monaghan, who played the role of protagonist Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi games, said that development on a third game was underway shortly after the Jedi: Survivor's release in 2023. Later on, Laura Miele, president of Electronic Arts, said during the company's Investor Day 2024 presentation that the next Star Wars Jedi game would serve as the "final chapter" in the Jedi series.

Little more is known about the planned game, perhaps since it's in its mid-stage of development, given it’s already been close to two years. Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor were both developed by Stig Asmussen, who was also responsible for the games' plot, gameplay, and character development of Cal Kestis. The Star Wars stories in those games were some of the greatest we've seen in a long time. Last September, however, Stig departed from both Respawn and EA permanently. His involvement was crucial to the success of both games; therefore, this is significant. Star Wars: Jedi 3's future would be clouded with uncertainty in his absence.

With Stig Asmussen gone, the obvious question is whether Star Wars: Jedi 3 will be as successful as the previous two titles. Things took a turn for the worst in Star Wars: Jedi 3 as Stig didn't only leave Respawn for a while; instead, he founded Giant Skull to develop his own single-player action-adventure game. Stig has not departed from Respawn alone; he has also recruited a number of senior developers to join Giant Skull's team. Individuals with experience in the Jedi games are now working with Stig on his new project.

Giant Skull's first game using Unreal Engine 5 is currently under development, and Star Wars Jedi 3 will also be made using the same engine. Thus, they are undoubtedly continuing with similar approaches. The project's specifics are still sketchy, but Stig has been forthright about the type of game they're working on, which is a third-person action-adventure game with an emphasis on story and fully realized environments in the works. Additionally, he has said that they are willing to collaborate with licensed titles, which could suggest that it's a Star Wars game—just a chance.

Having said that, Stig’s project is likely to be something totally new. Whatever the case may be, it seems like Giant Skull is mirroring the direction of the Jedi games. The website of Giant Skull is riddled with mysterious messages and a chatbot that conveys coded words. Proverbs such as "You are the vision" and "The vision known will be seen" are some instances. I've been attempting to figure it out, thinking it could be hinting at their first game, but it keeps blocking my attempts to access any further. Maybe there's more going on than meets the eye, or perhaps it's only entertaining advertising. Whoever says it, it's making waves.

This brings us full circle to Jedi 3 and where the Star Wars Jedi series go without Stig's absence. This highly anticipated game will eventually be released, but unexpectedly, Stig will not be leading the charge. Despite Respawn's best efforts, the loss of Stig and other important developers must have been devastating for the final chapter of this series. Stig Asmussen said prior to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's launch that the developers at Respawn always planned for the series to include a total of three games.

The development of Fallen Order started in 2014, and it took a total of five years to complete before the game was finally published in 2019. Survivor was released four years later, in 2023. Both of these games were developed using Unreal Engine 4, and the Star Wars Jedi 3 will be developed using Unreal Engine 5. Even though we assumed that the game is in its mid-development phase, Respawn may need more time to adjust to the new engine, which means Jedi 3 will not be released in 2027. The release could be pushed to 2028, considering a 4-5-year development cycle.