Star Wars Eclipse is still happening, says developer Quantic Dream. If you’ve forgotten about Eclipse then I don’t really blame you because it was announced back in 2021 and has rarely popped up since.
In a new blog post,[1] Quantic Dream boasts about having doubled in size since 2018 while also announcing that they are shifting from being a one project studio to a multiple project team.
That new project? A competitive multiplayer game, a markedly new direction for Quantic Dream who usually specialises in single-player, narrative-focused games. Titled Spellcasters Chronices, this new adventure for the team is a 3v3 action-strategy game, but so far the Youtube comments have not been kind to it. Mostly, they seem concerned that this is going to be an attempt to chase the live-service trend and that it will be dead-on-arrival.
“This new title may surprise our fans as it is very different from what we have done so far. But taking risks, challenging ourselves, exploring new ways of playing and telling stories, and attempting what seems impossible, has always been part of our DNA,” writes David Cage, founder and CEO of Quantic Dreams. I assume he had to perform quick-time-events to successfully write the post.
Almost as a side-note, the Cage post mentions that, “Of course, development of Star Wars: Eclipse continues, and we are eager to share more with you in the future.”
Eclipse was revealed back in 2021 and was in the very early stages of development. The teaser seemed to be more geared toward drawing in new talent than anything else. Since then, insider reports have suggested that the studio has trouble finding and retaining staff, and that their in-house engine isn’t well suited to the style of game that Eclipse is.
Quantic Dream was purchased by NetEase in 2022, which may have also affected the game’s development.
Quantic Dream has not released a game since 2018, so I imagine there’s some pressure on the team to get something out of the door.
References
- ^ In a new blog post, (blog.quanticdream.com)