Interestingly, the phrasing used by the representative doesn’t necessarily indicate that a new Star Wars Jedi game might be in the works. Considering the breadth of the Star Wars universe, cross-media plans are often made for just about every character in the franchise.

However, a report from back in January had indicated that a new entry in the Star Wars Jedi series was indeed in the works, and might be slated for release later this year. The report came courtesy of Tim Gettys speaking during an episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast.

“I was thinking about this earlier when I was trying to come up with a game that wouldn’t make this list, and I was thinking about how… ‘received’… the last one was, but the Jedi Survivor sequel I think has a solid chance of coming out this year,” said Gettys in the episode. “I don’t think it’s a slam dunk… I can see that game being announced in May and coming out in September.”

Other hosts at the time rightly pointed out that both of the previous titles in the Star Wars Jedi series—Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor—were both announced and released in the same year. A similar plan might be in the works for the rumored third entry as well. “I’ve heard some things,” concluded Gettys.

Publisher Electronic Arts and developer Respawn Entertainment have been quiet about the franchise since the 2023 release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, however. Assuming that the project has been quietly in the works, this would mean that Respawn is working on a relatively short 3-year development cycle. It is also worth noting that the studio has seen quite a few departures over the last couple of years, including director Stig Asmussen.

The first entry in the series—Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order—was released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2019, followed up by a 2021 release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The title takes place between the end of the Clone Wars and before Episode 4: A New Hope. Players take on the role of former Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis, who managed to survive Order 66 and went into hiding, disguising himself as a maintenance worker who dismantles Republic ships.

The plot kicks off when Cal is forced to reveal the fact that he is Force sensitive and has to go on the run while the Galactic Empire sends the Imperial Inquisition after him.

Its follow-up, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, took place a few years after the events of its predecessor, with Cal now leading a one-man crusade against the Galactic Empire. He is forced to reconcile with old friends when a mission goes wrong, however, and accidentally stumbles into a way to rid the galaxy of the Empire’s tyranny.

Known as Empulse (which may not be the final name), the shooter reportedly features giant mechs. They can reportedly be found on the map and have been described as “strikingly similar” to Respawn Entertainment’s Titans. Pre-alpha gameplay viewed by Henderson apparently showcased one mech with a gatling gun, missile launcher and shield.

The total number of mech types is unknown. As for modes, Team Deathmatch is reportedly in and alongside the usual boost pads, there are grappling hooks and the classic wall running.

Despite development being announced last March, it seems that an announcement is happening later this year. Then again, that could mean somewhere around The Game Awards rather than Summer Game Fest (which is set for June 5th). Hopefully, 1047 Games avoids a repeat of the disastrous Splitgate 2 release.

As for Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, it’s available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC. It peaked at 2,297 concurrent players on Steam, a far cry from Splitgate 2’s launch numbers, and hasn’t crossed 1,000 players since February 2nd.

The listing also indicates the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s rating (T for Teen). Both of these seemingly suggest that a release date announcement is near. When is anyone’s guess, but with Zero Company out this year, and the Summer Game Fest showcase coming up in early June, it could be announced there.

In development for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, the turn-based tactical strategy has made no bones about its XCOM inspirations. As a former Republic officer known as Hawks, players must assemble a team to tackle an “emerging threat.” They’ll visit different planets during the Clone Wars to undertake missions, and not everyone in your squad will always get along with each other.

To that end, Star Wars Zero Company features all the tenets of an XCOM-like experience, from procedurally generated enemy placement to permadeath. Stay tuned for more updates on a potential release date announcement as June draws closer.

Battlefield 6, in particular, was a highlight and touted as the “best performing Battlefield in a fiscal year, setting numerous franchise fiscal year records.” EA Sports FC 26, FC Online and FC Mobile also saw net bookings increase by “mid-single-digits” while Apex Legends saw its “strongest net bookings quarter of the fiscal year in Q4.”

Regarding the results, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said, “Driven by our talented teams and disciplined execution, we delivered a record FY26, highlighted by the incredibly successful launch of our iconic Battlefield franchise. With the recent completion of a debt process that was met with strong investor demand and our ongoing constructive engagement with regulators, we look ahead to closing the transaction and the opportunities it will unlock.”

It’s all good news for Electronic Arts, whose acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake and Affinity Partners closed early this year for $55 billion. However, Battlefield 6 hasn’t exactly received the warmest reception post-launch, suffering from numerous bugs and other issues, including lackluster map sizes and heavy monetization. Of course, layoffs at Battlefield Studios also didn’t help and look especially egregious considering EA’s record results.

Season 3 aims to address some of those concerns with Railway to Golmud, based on Battlefield 4’s beloved map. Other much-requested features like naval combat (punctuated by the return of Wake Island) in July and a server browser are also in the works, so stay tuned for updates.

He noted that the story won’t have a “chosen one”-styled narrative. Rather, it will focus on the team of operators that serve as its protagonists. Because of this, Star Wars Zero Company is “not a personal fantasy game.”

“This is a game about a team, a team of operators who come from all over, and it’s not a personal fantasy game,” Contreras said. “Hawks isn’t the lone chosen one who’s going to step out and do all the things with the swing of their mighty, mighty saber or whatnot. Hawks is a leader, negotiator, has to be cunning, strategic.”

​”It’s a tactical strategy fantasy. So it had to be about how you manage and lead this team, and how you deal with these different personalities and their strengths and weaknesses.”

​There is also going to be plenty of moral ambiguity in Star Wars Zero Company, despite the setting as a whole leaning quite hard on the polar opposite philosophies presented by the Light and Dark sides of the Force. Its setting—the Clone Wars era—has also played a key role in this, since war often tends to blur the lines between what could be considered good or evil.

​”We know the way that these ideologies will shake out,” he said. “The dust will settle into an era of Rebels and Empire, of very light and dark, good and evil. But things aren’t so clear during the Clone Wars era, and that makes for a really interesting opportunity.”

Players will have to truly step into the shoes of the leader, especially when it’s time to deal with interpersonal conflicts between team members, thanks to conflicting worldviews. It’s “part of the fantasy of being a leader,” said Contreras, who noted that the bond system also plays a role in this.​

“You’re gonna have people with really strong opinions about some questions, and you can’t make everybody happy. So finding that as a feature was really key for us as a way to force setbacks in otherwise-upward movement in the bond system.”

​Earlier this week, studio founder Greg Foertsch spoke about thanking Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm for “taking a chance” on the studio and its project. While he acknowledged that the two companies could have stuck with a “safe” and iterative game, they instead gave Bit Reactor a shot, despite tactics games being relatively niche in the grand scheme of things.

“Looking at some of the things going on in the industry, it’s very derivative. Art is always that way. Games are no different. But I think, looking at the boldness with which both Respawn and Lucasfilm looked at us,” said Foertsch.

You’ve got these two giants taking a chance on someone like us, having the vision and the courage and the conviction to risk that on a brand-new studio.”

​“The faith in us to do something new, to do something outside of their norms. For both places, turn-based tactics isn’t something that they’ve done.”

​Star Wars Zero Company is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later this year.

Foertsch said that many major releases in the industry tend to be quite derivative. However, he is thankful for giant companies like Respawn and Lucasfilm for taking a chance on Star Wars Zero Company.

“Looking at some of the things going on in the industry, it’s very derivative. Art is always that way. Games are no different. But I think, looking at the boldness with which both Respawn and Lucasfilm looked at us,” said Foertsch. “You’ve got these two giants taking a chance on someone like us, having the vision and the courage and the conviction to risk that on a brand-new studio.”

“The faith in us to do something new, to do something outside of their norms. For both places, turn-based tactics isn’t something that they’ve done.”

He went on to note how easy it would have been for both companies to simply “follow form” and imitate other popular moves in the industry, since that would have likely guaranteed more sales for the game.

“But here you’ve got these two companies that just had the courage and the conviction to believe in trying something different and giving their audience something new,” he said. “I think that’s worth mentioning. It’s just not common anymore. And man, I can’t say enough about the support we’ve received from both of those companies.”

Just last month, Foertsch had also spoken about how a random phone call from Vince Zampella led to him pitching the entirety of the project on the spot, to which Zampella only asked if it could be possible to make it a Star Wars game.

“I’d left Firaxis after about 22 years of working there and making strategy games my whole career,” said Foertsch. “I knew I wanted to stay in the strategy, the tactics space?. I’m sitting in my office with the lights out and my computer on, my wife’s asleep, my kids are asleep, and the phone rings,” he continued. “It’s this number that I don’t recognize. For some reason, I answered it, and the voice on the other end said, ‘Hey, Greg, this is Vince Zampella. I heard you have a game you want to make. Can you tell me about it?’”

Unveiled back in April 2025, Star Wars Zero Company is a turn-based tactics game coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later this year. The story will be set between the events of Episode 2: Attack of the Clones and Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, and will likely give players a new look at the battles that have already been covered at length in other Star Wars media.

Foertsch has also spoken about the grittier atmosphere of Star Wars Zero Company that was inspired by Rogue One and The Clone Wars.

“I’d left Firaxis after about 22 years of working there and making strategy games my whole career,” said Foertsch. “I knew I wanted to stay in the strategy, the tactics space⁠. I’m sitting in my office with the lights out and my computer on, my wife’s asleep, my kids are asleep, and the phone rings,” he continued. “It’s this number that I don’t recognize. For some reason, I answered it, and the voice on the other end said, ‘Hey, Greg, this is Vince Zampella. I heard you have a game you want to make. Can you tell me about it?'”

The phone call would lead to Foertsch describing a brand new tactical strategy game. Zampella asked him if it could be based in the Star Wars universe. “And I said, ‘Sure, different game, but yeah, absolutely.’ Meanwhile, I’m thinking, ‘This is insane, right? Like, this is crazy. It’s Star Wars.’ And so I said, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’ And Vince was just like, ‘Pitch me.'”

Star Wars Zero Company was officially unveiled in April 2025, shortly after a series of leaks revealed images and its official title. The turn-based tactics game is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2026, and is set between the events of Episode 2: Attack of the Clones and Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, and will likely involve small-scale skirmishes happening amidst the war between the Republic Army and the Trade Federation.

Shortly after the unveiling, Foertsch had spoken about how Star Wars Zero Company will feature a grittier atmosphere, bringing up Rogue One and Clone Wars as the key points of comparison.

“The Clone Wars offers us a lot of the tools we need mechanically for the game, which is great,” explained Foertsch. “But it’s also interesting, we haven’t seen that kind of zoom level in the Clone Wars, and so it’s a pretty unique spot to land that also offered a lot of great options for us from a game design perspective, to tell a really great story with some great mechanics added to it. That really opened the door for us to do a lot of things.”

He was joined by creative executive Kelsey Sharpe, discussing the nature of the Clone Wars story, which allowed for optimistic themes while still maintaining the grounded atmosphere of the war.

However, it goes deeper than that. “The gameplay is what it is about. But depth doesn’t cost you elegance. You can absolutely have [graphics and storytelling], and not to mention, this genre in particular, you should have those things.”

“We pick our battles,” added animation lead Hector Antunez. “The heart of the game is in the tactical combat. But we really wanted to add an element that allowed players to spend even more time in the Star Wars environments and not have those spaces be limited by what would make for fun combat.”

While XCOM featured a home base (or ship) where players could commission research, train their squad members, and choose which mission to embark on next, Star Wars Zero Company goes even further. Its characters are full-fledged companions with their own backstories and grievances (oftentimes with each other). Lead designer Grayson Scantlebury also confesses to “poring through books or going on Wookieepedia” to see which planets made sense “during the Clone Wars era that I could tell that story.”

“Or vice versa: I’m just browsing through and going, ‘Well, what happened on Bespin at this time, or Lothal at this time?'”

That said, your companions aren’t indestructible. Permadeath is very much a thing, and while it presented a challenge, narrative lead Aaron Contreras is glad to have it. “About 13 months ago, I lost an argument about permadeath, and it was good that I did; it was the right decision for the game.”

Foerstch believes it feeds into a major aspect of Star Wars: Loss. “I mean, four years old, watching Obi-Wan Kenobi die, right? It’s about loss, and then also, as a developer, wanting people not to save scum, but to push through the loss, to what’s on the other side of the experience, to feel it.” It’s certainly a feeling which should resonate with contemporary fans as well, especially after TV shows like Andor.

Star Wars Zero Company doesn’t have a release date, but it’s launching later this year for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Head here to learn more about its character customization and other gameplay features.

Along with this, Kojima also revealed that he had spoken to Zampella following the former’s departure from Konami. Kojima was seeking advice from Zampella during the creation of Kojima Productions, since Zampella had experience with going independent to found Respawn Entertainment. “Without [Zampella], the gaming industry wouldn’t be what it is today,” he said.

Unfortunately, aside from the fact that it was going to be a shooter, we don’t really get to learn why this Zampella-headed Metal Gear game was never made. Considering his experience with the Call of Duty series, and the eventual release of two Titanfall games and Apex Legends, it would have likely been quite the action-packed ride.

The video package featured a number of important figures from across the gaming industry, from Hideo Kojima to Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford, and even members of the gaming media like Geoff Keighley.

“What struck me most was his restlessness,” Keighley said on stage, according to Game File. “Nothing was ever quite good enough. That relentless hunger for excellence drove him to believe he could always make a better game, a better company, be a better leader.”

“He was direct, impatient with nonsense and fiercely loyal to the people doing the work,” Keighley continued. “As he liked to say, he was always a few days away from quitting every job he ever had. And somehow that’s what made him invaluable. He could be inside the system without becoming it. That independence led him to always put the player first, to push even the biggest organizations to take risks.’“

Vince Zampella passed away back in December in a tragic driving accident along Angeles Crest Highway. The accident was noted as occurring at 12:45 PM, and resulted in two fatalities – both occupants of Zampella’s 2026 Ferrari 296 GTS. Zampella died at the age of 55, and has left behind a massive legacy in the gaming industry.

Zampella was known for having a hand in creating games like the original Medal of Honor and the Call of Duty franchise after co-founding Infinity Ward with Jason West and Grant Collier. After having worked at the studio, and with Activision, for several years, Zampella and West would leave, founding Respawn Entertainment to work on games like Titanfall, the Star Wars: Jedi series, and Apex Legends.

After serving as the head of Respawn Entertainment for several years, Zampella would eventually become the CEO of Ripple Effect—the studio previously known as DICE LA and one of the studios that worked on Battlefield 6. As part of his role, Zampella was tasked with overseeing the Battlefield franchise as a whole. The latest entry was released in October across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Battlefield 6 contributed to most of the net bookings, though Apex Legends and EA Sports FC also saw some growth. The latter saw “increased high single digits year-over-year in Q3, excluding the benefit of deluxe edition content timing, driven by strength in Ultimate Team and FC Mobile.” Meanwhile, Respawn’s long-running battle royale shooter was “up double-digits year-over-year driven by innovative new features and events.”

Of course, Battlefield 6 is the star. Not only did it emerge as the best-selling shooter of last year – if selling more than seven million units within three days didn’t tip you off – but it also elevated the franchise to new engagement heights.

Following the announcement of its acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake, Electronic Arts won’t host a quarterly conference call to discuss its earnings. The publisher’s board approved the $55 billion deal, which will close sometime between April and June. However, US Congress members recently requested the Federal Trade Commission investigate the same, which could lead to impediments. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.