There is a host of Star Wars games that explore Disney’s canon timeline, covering events both outside of the Skywalker Saga and therein. The timeline of the Star Wars universe is well documented in canon material, within various films, novels, comics, TV shows as well as games. This material covers hundreds of years of history in the Star Wars universe that is temporally referenced using the Galactic Standard Calendar system which utilizes the Battle of Yavin – the climactic event of A New Hope – as its year zero, so ABY and BBY refer to ‘After’ and ‘Before’ the Battle of Yavin. Canon Star Wars games tend to be pretty clear where they lie in Galactic history, though it has been questioned whether some elements, such as the upcoming Star Wars Eclipse, may break the timeline in certain places.
The ‘canon’ Star Wars universe refers to Disney’s new era which is separated from previous material, referred to as Legends, which was removed from canon when Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. Any film, game, comic or novelization published post-2014 is considered part of the Disney-era canon, with many of them intersecting in small or sometimes significant ways. This can make exploring the Star Wars universe even more satisfying for fans, as the more they invest in the mythos, the greater they may be rewarded in terms of cameos and crossovers.
While it has been argued that certain Star Wars games shouldn’t be considered canon, canon game material includes the overall scenario and features, like cutscenes or manuals. However, game mechanics and statistics are not necessarily canon and are instead considered the artistic license of the game adapted to make it a more enjoyable playing experience. For instance, the disappearance of enemy bodies after their death is obviously not canon, as well as special effects, like glowing and sounds, surrounding Force users when using abilities. In any case, canon Star Wars games span countless genres including action shooter games, flight combat simulators, and even Virtual Reality experiences, each providing a novel way to explore the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars Eclipse Will Explore The High Republic
Showcased at The Game Awards 2021 with a cinematic trailer, the High Republic-set Star Wars Eclipse will be developed by Quantic Dream and feature multiple characters. Set before the events of the Skywalker Saga, the game takes place during the High Republic period, which roughly spans the years between 300 and 82 ABY, and will be the earliest canon game in the Star Wars timeline. The High Republic is also referred to as the Golden Age of the Jedi, during which the galaxy was at relative peace in comparison to the later struggles during the Clone Wars and under the Empire. The Jedi Order was flourishing, diverse in its members and beliefs, and the galaxy was being explored and brought under Republic control.
The exact events of this game are yet unknown, but it will likely be set towards the end of the High Republic, as the Star Wars Eclipse trailer features prequel-era ships, notably including the Lukrehulk of the Trade Federation. This game will be an action-adventure game with emphasis upon decision-making that will introduce new aspects of the High Republic universe in the Outer Rim Territories, as well as potentially featuring familiar faces, as Yoda can also be spotted. There’s no word on an exact release date yet, but there are other Star Wars titles releasing in the meantime.
Star Wars Journeys Is The Earliest Game In The Canon Timeline
Technically, the earliest canon game on the timeline is currently Star Wars Journeys, which was released as an iOS app in April 2014 by Disney Publishing. Although a video game adaptation of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released for PC and PlayStation in 1999 alongside the release of the film, this is not considered canon and does not stick to the script, as players can even opt to kill Shmi as Star Wars‘ Qui-Gon. Journeys, on the other hand, actually is, and until Star Wars Eclipse releases, it is the earliest-set canon Star Wars game.
Star Wars Journeys concerns the story of The Phantom Menace and contains an interactive book with secret facts and a mini podracing game. Journeys was intended to be the first in a series of apps that would chronicle the first six Skywalker movies, but its content was reused in Star Wars Journeys: Beginnings, released in December 2014, that covers the entire prequel trilogy. While this may be the earliest Star Wars game on the canon timeline, it is admittedly not much of a game and was released as an informative app to accompany the first prequel film.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Follows A Padawan’s Survival Of Order 66
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced multiple characters in its story, including the fan-favorite Cal Kestis, portrayed by Gotham‘s Cameron Monaghan. Developed by Titanfall creators Respawn Entertainment, the game’s narrative follows protagonist Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan who survived the Great Jedi Purge, as he is hunted by the Galactic Empire whilst attempting to complete his training and rebuild the fallen Jedi Order. Order 66 was issued by Palpatine towards the end of the Clone Wars, in the year 19 BBY. Following this, the Great Jedi Purge, also known as the war against the Jedi, persisted until 3 BBY, in which the Jedi Order was ended by the Sith, and they were ruthlessly hunted and murdered by the Galactic Empire. The narrative of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order takes place five years after the end of the Clone Wars, in 14 BBY.
Jedi: Fallen Order lets players explore the galaxy in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Its fighting mechanics may not be as impressive as lightsaber combat in Star Wars: Jedi Academy, but it’s both challenging and rewarding. Players can utilize Cal’s lightsaber and force abilities to navigate both combat and puzzle scenarios from a third-person perspective, accompanied throughout by the ever-wonderful BD-1. The game’s setting in the period running up to the Battle of Yavin has been largely explored in novels, comics, and screenplays, especially in Disney XD’s animated series, Star Wars Rebels.
Star Wars Browser Games Explore The Rebels Timeline Further
Disney Interactive released a plethora of free online browser games between 2014 to 2017, featuring events and characters from the animated show, Star Wars Rebels. These browser games included: Ghost Raid, Rebel Strike, Chopper Chase, Team Tactics, Strike Missions, and Special Ops. All these games are set between 5 – 1 BBY, with some games detailing specific events from Rebels, such as Team Tactics serving as an adaptation of the television movie, The Siege of Lothal.
Alongside browser games, there are many mobile games, with a new mobile Star Wars game by Zynga apparently coming soon. Yet, one of the only canon mobile games is Disney Interactive’s Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions, set in 5 to 4 BBY. Players could act as the Spectres as they set up a new secret hideout, known as Haven, and set out on missions to disrupt Imperial forces and rescue Lothal citizens. Though these browser and mobile games are now unavailable to play, these games are nevertheless considered canon for the period following the Clone Wars and the run-up to the original trilogy.
The Vader Immortal VR Series Is Set Just Before Rogue One
The Vader Immortal series comprises three Virtual Reality adventure games released in 2019. This series is set between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and follows a Force-sensitive smuggler with an interesting ancestry who is taken captive by Darth Vader. Players control the smuggler-cum-Jedi as they journey through Vader Immortal‘s Mustafar, learning lightsaber and Force combat along the way, to obtain an ancient artifact, the Bright Star, at Vader’s behest. The story is set sometime between 2 and 0 BBY, giving fans a closer look at Anakin Skywalker and his actions following his transformation and fall to the Dark Side.
Vader Immortal‘s developers, ILMxLAB, also created another VR game set in roughly the same period: Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, released in 2017. This game features loveable Rogue One characters, including Captain Cassian Andor and K-2SO, as players control Rebels as they operate a mission to Mustafar to steal a powerful weapon from the Galactic Empire. Obviously, in this game players do not have Jedi abilities due to controlling Rebel operatives, but lightsabers are not necessarily the best part of Star Wars VR games. This game takes place in the run-up to Rogue One and provides interesting canonical background to one of the film’s main characters. Disney’s canonical browser game, Boots on the Ground, lifts more characters from Rogue One, letting fans lead the Rebellion and play as Jyn Erso, Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Îmwe in addition to Cassian and K-2.
The Original Trilogy Is Explored Through Star Wars Games
The events of the iconic original trilogy between 0 to 4 ABY are explored through games of various genres. Disney released a selection of mobile and browser games between 2014 and 2016 that loosely adapted the events of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and the time in between the two movies into strategy-based mobile games and an interactive browser game. Yet, mobile and browser games tend to be shut down relatively soon after release whether canon or not, as Lucasfilm’s non-canon PVP mobile strategy game, Star Wars Force Arena was shut down two years after its release. These games include:
- Star Wars Heroes Path
- Star Wars Commander
- Star Wars Yoda’s Jedi Training
Star Wars Battlefront 2 Showcases The Downfall Of The Empire
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is an action shooter game developed by DICE, released in 2017 as the fourth installment of the Battlefront series. Battlefront 2 is larger than its predecessors, with its novel single-player campaign taking place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It follows the story of protagonist Iden Versio, a defected Imperial commander who joins the New Republic. The majority of the story is set during the final year of the Galactic Civil War, before the Empire’s defeat at the Battle of Jakku, first depicted in Battlefront 2015 in 5 ABY.
The timeline of Battlefront 2‘s multiplayer spans decades, as players can take part in massive battle scenarios set throughout all the different Star Wars eras. These battles take place on familiar planets from the Skywalker Saga, including an assault on Theed, the capital of Naboo, the Battle of Endor, and a First Order invasion of Maz Kanata’s castle on Takodana. While these individual battles may not be considered canon, they act as interesting and entertaining ways to explore the various Star Wars planets in each era from 32 BBY to 35 ABY.
Battlefront 2‘s predecessor, Battlefront 2015, remains the best-selling Star Wars game in the U.S. today, attesting to the popularity of this series. While Battlefront 2015 did not have a single-player campaign to deepen the new canon, its release did re-canonize certain blaster weapons from Legends material. This included the blaster pistol wielded by Jedi Knight protagonist Kyle Katarn, who is yet to feature in the new canon.
Star Wars: Squadrons And Hunters Explore The Galaxy After Episode VI
The period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is explored in various Star Wars games, a turbulent period following the destruction of the Empire and the ‘deaths’ of Palpatine and Vader. Space flight combat game, Star Wars: Squadrons, was published by EA in 2020, and its prologue takes place around the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY, with the main portion of the game set following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. Squadrons introduces new characters to the Disney canon, and was also the first dedicated starfighter game released in years.
Players can choose to fight for the New Republic’s Vanguard squadron or the Empire’s Titan squadron, building their own characters and starfighters for either faction. Star Wars: Squadrons even crosses over with the events of the Alphabet Squadron novels, with series protagonist Yrica Quell being shouted out in-game. This period has also been explored in Kabam’s strategy mobile game Star Wars Uprising, set around 4-5 ABY.
Another game set during the gap between Episodes VI and VII is the upcoming multiplayer arena-based title, Star Wars Hunters. Set for release on mobile and Nintendo Switch in 2022, this game is set at some point between Return of the Jedi‘s ending in 4 ABY and the start of The Force Awakens in 34 ABY, exploring this epoch through the Grand Arena in which players compete to become the “Hunters of the Outer Rim”. Star Wars Hunters will introduce playable characters that are exciting and novel including Utooni, two Jawa brothers stacked on top of each other, and a Droid who thinks he is Force-sensitive, appropriately named J-3DI.
The Sequel Trilogy Is Explored Through Star Wars Games
The events of the sequel trilogy are explored in the action-adventure VR experience, Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, released in 2020. This instance is different from ILMxLAB’s previous VR productions as it involves “storyLIVING”, in which players face consequential choices that alter the course of the story, rather than the previous situation of simple storytelling. So, players can explore the galaxy between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker whilst encountering both new and familiar faces, as Galaxy’s Edge features C-3PO and R2-D2. ILMxLAB have also explored this period post-34 ABY in another VR Experience, Droid Repair Bay, set upon General Leia Organa’s ship during the events of The Last Jedi.
While these are all the canon Star Wars games, it is worth remembering that there is a host of much-loved non-canon games, such as Knights of the Old Republic and The Old Republic, which explore eras not yet seen in Disney canon. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to discover where Ubisoft’s upcoming story-based game will feature on the new Star Wars timeline. Further releases should expand the canon as well, with the expected sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order being one.
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