The Nintendo Direct titled Star Wars: Hunters. Hunters is set to launch on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices later this year. Set after the fall of the Galactic Empire and before Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Hunters allows players to choose between a colorful cast of bounty hunters, Rebel heroes, and former Imperials in team-based multiplayer battles across the many different landscapes of the Star Wars galaxy.
Since its initial announcement, Zynga has been unveiling new details about the many unique characters that players will be controlling in Star Wars: Hunters. These include the Dark Side Rieve, the lightsaber-wielding droid J-3DI, and even Utooni - a Star Wars character who is really two Jawas in a suit. Fans have even speculated that Star Wars: Hunters could feature guest appearances from existing characters like The Mandalorian’s Din Djarin or classic bounty hunters Bossk and IG-88. The period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens has been a key focus of Lucasfilm since its acquisition by Disney, and Hunters' setting may afford multiple crossover opportunities. Rather than bring more content from that era of Star Wars to Hunters though, Zynga has just announced that a fabled piece of lore from Star Wars’ Old Republic era will be featured in the title instead.
Yesterday, Zynga Inc. and Lucasfilm Games announced a plethora of new content for Star Wars: Hunters, including two new playable Hunters (the legendary cartel doctor Skora and the droid army-controlling Sprocket) and a couple of new maps set on the desert world of Tatooine. Additionally, Star Wars: Hunters will include a new game mode called Huttball, in which players will compete against each other to rack up as many goals as possible in what Zynga describes as a “brutal, no-holds-barred crucible.”
Hardcore Star Wars fans will recognize Huttball as a popular bloodsport based on the planet Nar Shaddaa, the homeworld of the sluglike Hutts. Like real-world soccer and football, players would form teams, try to gain possession of a ball, and bring it to the opposing team's camp to score a goal - though violence and cheating were heavy encouraged by the criminal Giradda the Hutt, who sponsored these events during the days of the Old Republic. A playable version of Huttball was featured in the 10-year-old Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, serving as that game’s take on the traditional Capture the Flag multiplayer mode.
Huttball is a popular game mode in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and its connection with the criminal underworld makes it a good fit for Star Wars: Hunters’ cast of mercenaries. There aren’t many details on how the Huttball game mode will play out in Star Wars: Hunters, but it may be similar to its iteration in Star Wars: The Old Republic, with two teams frantically trying to stop each other from scoring goals by any means necessary. Players will get the chance to try Huttball out for themselves when Star Wars: Hunters launches sometime later this year.
Source: Zynga Inc, Lucasfilm Games
