14 DAY TRIAL // Star Wars: First Assault has recently been revealed via Xbox Live Arcade file leaks, suggesting that LucasArts was ready to show and launch a new title linked to the movie franchise or to the more recent Cartoon Network show.
But a source tells Kotaku that while the game is real and, apparently, already playable, it might never be actually released to the public. It could rather serve as a testing platform for ideas that might be incorporated in future LucasArts titles, including a potential Battlefield 3.
It seems that Star Wars: First Assault was initially set to be launched during spring of this year on XBLA and the PlayStation Network from Sony, but the plan was postponed because of problems with LucasArts.
Apparently, the game focuses on the trials and tribulations of normal rank and file soldiers in the Star Wars universe rather than on Jedi or bounty hunters.
Vehicles are not included and the maps, set on planets like Tatooine and Bespin, support skirmishes that involve as many as 16 players.
The source tells Kotaku that fans of the Star Wars universe should let LucasArts know that “they want games to be taken seriously, and they will only pay for quality. I believe that if Disney/Lucas lets LucasArts die, it means the death of Star Wars as a storied game franchise is right behind it.”
Apparently, a good performance for Star Wars: First Assault would have allowed the company to start work on Battlefront 3, which might have arrived during 2014.
Since LucasArts has been purchased by Disney, the new game is in development limbo as the parent company is evaluating the various Star Wars projects and decides which of them are worth supporting in the future.
For now, Disney has confirmed that a seventh Star Wars core movie is being developed.