Summary

• A new job listing at Electronic Arts has referenced two iconic Star Wars games from the 90s, Star Wars: Dark Forces and Star Wars: Jedi Knight.
• A potential Dark Forces reboot would offer fans a modern take on the classic first-person shooter games, and could reintegrate these stories into modern Star Wars canon.
• In the meantime, a Dark Forces remaster is listed on Steam with a February 2024 release date.

A classic Respawn Entertainment's rumored Mandalorian title, and the third entry in Respawn's acclaimed Star Wars: Jedi series. While these are all set to tell new stories within the Star Wars universe, there are some from decades ago that fans are keen to see get a revival.

A new job listing for a Senior Interface Artist suggests that Electronic Arts may also be working on a title inspired by the classic Star Wars: Dark Forces and Star Wars: Jedi Knight first-person shooter games of the 90s. The listing reads "In collaboration with Lucasfilm, the Star Wars™ FPS Team is developing a new AAA FPS in the Star Wars™ galaxy. Inspired by classic titles like Dark Forces and Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2, our story-driven single-player game is being developed from the ground up leveraging the power of Unreal Engine 5."

Could EA's New Star Wars Games Make Kyle Katarn's Story Canon Again?

Katarn's Antics Were Made Non-Canon Due To Disney's Newer Star Wars Stories

The Star Wars: Dark Forces and Star Wars: Jedi Knight games took place in parallel to the original trilogy's movies and focused on Kyle Katarn, an Imperial officer who became disillusioned with the Empire and began to take on mercenary work for the Rebels before ultimately becoming a Jedi Knight. Despite Kyle Katarn's story tying into the movie trilogy in many ways - Katarn even plays a part in the retrieval of the Death Star plans to aid the Rebels prior to A New Hope - these tales seem to have become non-canon alongside the Star Wars Extended Universe. Over the years since Disney acquired the franchise and produced movies such as Rogue One and several Disney+ shows to tell new stories in this time-period instead.

At one point, fans believed that a character in Star Wars: Outlaws called Jaylen may have been Kyle Katarn using an alias due to the two characters sharing an uncanny likeness and the dealings within the criminal underground that are at the forefront of that story and are sure to be full of mercenaries like Katarn. However, this theory was debunked by its developers soon after, leaving Katarn's role in the Star Wars universe non-canon.

While not a remake, a Star Wars: Dark Forces remaster by Night Dive Studios, the studio behind the 2023 System Shock remake is listed on Steam with a February 28, 2024 release date, and the other games in the series are still available for purchase on the platform.

Of course, it is possible that EA's new title may not be a Star Wars: Dark Forces reboot and is simply taking inspiration from the series in of gameplay, with both being within the first-person shooter genre. Respawn's rumored Mandalorian bounty hunter game is also reported to be a first-person shooter, so the title in question could be referring to this instead. Considering the Star Wars: Dark Forces and Star Wars: Jedi Knight games' popularity in the 90s, it would be great to see them revived and brought back into the Star Wars canon again, even if elements had to be reworked to fit Disney's newer lore.

Source: Electronic Arts, Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster/Steam