The multiplayer title Hunters features plenty of Star Wars characters, including bounty hunters, droids, and even Jedi as they engage in frantic team-based battles across several iconic Star Wars locations in the time between the fall of the original Star Wars trilogy’s Galactic Empire and the rise of the equally oppressive First Order of the sequel trilogy.
The playable Star Wars: Hunters characters who will be engaging in these battles include a lightsaber-wielding droid named J-3DI, a dark-side acolyte who appears to have ties to Palpatine’s hidden Sith Eternal cult from The Rise of Skywalker, and even a pair of diminutive Jawas standing on top of each other in addition to the expected assortment of towering Wookie warriors, battle-hardened Imperial stormtroopers, and armored Mandalorian bounty hunters. Aside from the team-focused gunfights that will make up the core of its gameplay, this colorful-but-violent cast will be able to play a Star Wars: Hunters variation of Huttball, a soccer-style bloodsport that has been featured in BioWare’s decade-old Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.
Star Wars: Hunters was originally set to release on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices later this year, but it seems that players might have to wait a while longer to dive into Zynga’s arena shooter. In an image post on the official Zynga Star Wars Twitter page, the developer announced that Star Wars: Hunters is being delayed until 2023 to allow more time to polish the game and “ensure that [Zynga] meets the high expectations [it] is setting for fans.” The message also goes on to state that the developers at Zynga understand how frustrating delays can be for the fans waiting anxiously for a given title to be released, and thanked everyone who logged in to Star Wars: Hunters’ previous soft launch earlier this year.
Star Wars: Hunters won’t be the only game set in the iconic galaxy far, far, away that will be launching next year, as Respawn recently announced that the Cal Kestis-fronted Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - the highly-anticipated sequel to 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - will finally be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles in 2023. There are several other big Star Wars games in the works as well, including Quantic Dreams’ High Republic era-set Star Wars Eclipse, a currently untitled open-world Star Wars game from Ubisoft, and even a modern remake of the beloved 2003 RPG, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Respawn Entertainment is also developing other Star Wars games separate to the Star Wars Jedi franchise, including an FPS.
Unfortunately for some Star Wars fans, it is still going to be a while before Star Wars: Hunters arrives on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, as developer Zynga needs more time to ensure that its multiplayer arena title meets the high expectations that come with the Star Wars brand. In the meantime, players can get a sense of what a Star Wars-themed hero shooter could be like thanks to Fortnite’s many Star Wars character skins.
Source: Zynga Star Wars/Twitter
