EA announced a little over a couple years ago that Respawn Entertainment was working on new single player first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe, with Peter Hirschmann – executive producer on the original Star Wars Battlefront games – serving as game director. And though details on the game have been light since then, a new report published by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson has potentially shed light on critical details.
As per Henderson, Respawn’s single player Star Wars FPS is a Mandalorian game where players will be playing as a bounty hunter. Set during the Galactic Empire’s reign (so between Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi), the game will see players tracking bounties across the galaxy and being tasked with bringing them in either dead or alive.
To be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a game based on the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. Whether you’re playing as its protagonist Din Djarin, as fan-favourite Star Wars character Boba Fett, or an entirely new Mandalorian bounty hunter character is currently unclear.
Either way, that premise will bleed over into the gameplay, as you might imagine. As per Insider Gaming’s report, players will have access to a variety of weapons, gadgets, and tools, including a grappling hook, a visor to tag enemies, a wrist rocket, and, of course, a jetpack.
The latter in particular will allow for quick and kinetic gameplay, as per the report, with an emphasis being placed on speed and style, thanks to a variety of movement and traversal options being available, from dashes and jumps to boost sliding and more. Players will be rewarded for focusing on style, and allegedly, the health regeneration mechanic will be tied to stringing together successive kills.
The report goes on to state that the game isn’t going to be open world, and will instead see players navigating a series of linear levels set in different locations and planets. Whether or not multiplayer will be included is currently unknown, though past job ads have suggested that it’s at least being considered.
As per Henderson, the game is still in the early stages of development, and, as such, “a year or two” away from launch “at the very least”.
Past job listings posted by Respawn have also indicated that the game is going to be “inspired by classic titles like Dark Forces and Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2.” Read more on that through here.