Electronic Arts might be preparing to reveal its next Star Wars game in June, according to Bloomberg and former Kotaku games reporter Jason Schreier, who commented on a post published by EA Motive’s new Twitter handle. While at Kotaku, Schreier broke the story that game studio EA Motive was working on a “smaller, more unusual Star Wars project” codenamed Project Maverick. The existence of Project Maverick seemed to be confirmed back in March when a listing for the game was leaked on the PlayStation Network.
“Looks like someone’s getting ready to announce a new game,” Schreier wrote on Twitter above a message from Motive announcing its new presence on the social media platform: “We’re here! The Motive family is excited to be joining on social platforms to share on who we are, and the work we do. Really, we couldn’t imagine a better time to start connecting with everyone online. Let’s go.”
The timing of Motive’s new Twitter handle is conspicuous enough, even without Schreier adding some context. After all, EA is set to host its traditional EA Play conference on June 11, when it will unveil its upcoming slate of projects for the rest of 2020 and beyond. After the massive success of Respawn Entertainment’s Jedi: Fallen Order, which is also reportedly getting a sequel, it’s not all that surprising that EA is ready to announce another Star Wars game.
The big question now is: what might Project Maverick entail? There are no concrete details regarding the gameplay as of yet, although the suggestion that this is a “smaller, more unusual” game could mean that fans should adjust their expectations. The game likely won’t be on the scale of big-budget productions like Jedi: Fallen Order and the Battlefront series.
Will Project Maverick at least be a story-focused experience? EA Motive previously contributed to the single-player campaign of Battlefront II, crafting the mode’s story, which is set after Return of the Jedi, so there’s a good chance this might be the case.
The teaser image for Project Maverick that leaked in March features a squadron of X-wings zooming towards an Imperial Star Destroyer. This has led some to speculate that the new title is a spiritual successor to the Rogue Squadron space combat series that saw players pilot Rebel fighters against the Imperial fleet. Many fans have been asking for a new Rogue Squadron title for years. The last installment came out in 2003 and series developer Factor 5 closed its doors in 2009. Rebel Galaxy developer Double Damage famously pitched a Star Wars space shooter in the spirit of the old X-wing and Rogue Squadron games, but EA turned it down.
Whatever Project Maverick is, it sounds like we’ll find out soon enough. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.