Star Wars Shooters Can't Rely on Collabs Like Destiny 2…

Star Wars video games are almost as old as the video game medium itself. Since the late 1970s, George Lucas's iconic sci-fi series has received more than a hundred video game adaptations, many of which have come from a variety of different developers. Early Star Wars video games were fairly rudimentary in concept; the first officially licensed title based on the franchise was a side-scrolling shooter for the Atari 2600. Over the years, however, Star Wars video games expanded into an assortment of different genres, from RPGs and platformers to action-adventure games and RTS titles.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, one of the most popular genres in the Star Wars video game sphere was that of the third/first-person shooter. Many of the biggest developers of the era, like the now-defunct EA subsidiary Pandemic Studios, created acclaimed Star Wars titles in this genre. Star Wars: Battlefront (2004), for example, was widely regarded as one of the sixth console generation's best multiplayer shooters. Single-player titles, like Star Wars: Republic Commando, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, were similarly successful, and they set the standard for what licensed shooter games could be.

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By Ashely Claudino

More Star Wars Unique Shooters Are Needed Over Fortnite and Destiny 2 Collabs

Since the Early 2010s, the Amount of Star Wars Shooters Has Been Minimal

In the last ten years, however, the popularity of Star Wars shooter games has somewhat waned. After EA obtained a decade of exclusive rights to the Star Wars license in 2013, the number of console games based on the franchise decreased considerably. Although EA did release a handful of Star Wars shooters during this era, like DICE's Star Wars: Battlefront reboots, these titles were embroiled in controversy upon their respective launches. Even though other companies now have the freedom to develop Star Wars games for consoles and PCs, the series still doesn't have any notable third- or first-person shooters on the horizon.

Fortnite and Destiny 2 Are Both Holding Major Star Wars Collabs This Year

Despite the relative lack of modern Star Wars shooters, Lucasfilm and Disney have partnered up with other companies to add Star Wars-themed content to some of the most popular shooters on the market. Earlier this month, Epic Games announced that it would host the biggest Star Wars collaboration yet in its multiplayer third-person shooter, Fortnite. This ongoing season, titled Fortnite: Galactic Battle, not only introduces new vehicles to the game, like X-Wings and TIE Fighters, but also a Star Wars Watch Party theater and a special live in-game event called the Death Star Sabotage.

Destiny 2, the hit online first-person shooter from Bungie, is also going to receive some major Star Wars-themed content in the next few months. A few days ago, Bungie revealed that its game would get a new expansion centered entirely around Star Wars, titled Destiny 2: Renegades. This DLC will be released alongside a handful of Star Wars-inspired armor ornament sets, which will be included in Destiny 2's Year of Prophecy: Ultimate Edition.

It's worth noting that Bungie has already added some Star Wars-themed skins to Destiny 2 this year. Back in February, it released a few Guardian cosmetics based on the Stormtroopers, Death Troopers, and Imperial Guards from the series.

The Frequency of These Recent Collabs Shows That There is An Audience for Star Wars Shooters

The fact that Lucasfilm and Disney frequently release Star Wars-themed content in first- and third-person shooters like Fortnite and Destiny 2 suggests that there may be a demand for new Star Wars video games in the same genres. Right now, companies like EA aren't developing any successors to the Star Wars: Battlefront games, nor are they making any single-player Star Wars shooters. As great as the recent Star Wars crossovers have been, Lucasfilm and Disney shouldn't rely solely on them to keep the series alive in the first/third-person shooter market. Instead, other developers who are interested in making great Star Wars shooters, single-player or otherwise, should be given license to do so.