Traditionally, May 4th is always a big day for theStar Warsfranchise. For many years, May the Fourth has been celebrated asStar WarsDay, both by the franchise fans and its creators. Anyone who has access to the IP usually has something to say on May 4th, whether it’s a poster reveal likeLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Sagagot last year, or something more dramatic like a game announcement. Naturally,Star Warsfans are holding their breath to see what will be announced in 2021. However, there’s a fair few reasons that 2021’s May 4th will be considerably quieter than previous years.
The fact of the matter is thatStar Warsvideo games in a bit of an awkward position compared to previous news. For one thing, there’s the obvious problem of the COVID pandemic, which is still impacting the video game industry heavily, slowing down development for projects of all kinds. For another, though, there’s just not a ton of reason to expect a lot of blockbuster announcements in 2021.TheStar WarsIPis in a weird place between newly released games and known games that are still far in the future. There’s not a lot of studios that could suddenly come forward with the reveal of a newStar Warsgame.
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A Galaxy of Games
There’s lots of games that probably won’t have much to say on May 4th. For instance,LEGO Star Wars: The SkywalkerSagajust got delayed out of its previous spring release window. There was a decent chance that Traveller’s Tales wanted to release the game on May 4th, so the delay is unfortunate, but maybe it’ll at least give a new release date in May. Other games known to be in development are things likeUbisoft and Lucasfilm Games' jointStar Warsventure, which is far too new an announcement to say anything specific onStar WarsDay.
Fans are really hoping to see some important sequels, particularlyStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2.Last year, Respawn Entertainment did have a free update to the game to share with fans. 2021 would seem like a good time to tease the sequel, but Respawn might be busy witha major update forApex Legendsexpectedout on May 4th. Although aStar Warscrossover on that day would be fun,Fallen Orderfans would be pretty disappointed to see no sequel.
Other demanded games likeStar Wars: Battlefront 3andKnights of the Old Republic 3are also really unlikely to make a sudden appearance next May. After all,Battlefront 3is surely to early in its development, andKnights of the Old Republic 3is only rumored to exist. The truth is that 2020’s modest May 4th may have set the precedent for 2021. Last year, the biggest announcements wereLEGO Star Wars' poster,Fallen Order’s update, andVader Immortal’s move to PlayStation VR. 2021 may be another year where fans get updates on long-known projects rather than new games coming to the forefront.
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Dealing with Delays
Last year’s May 4th had one significant advantage over this year. It was still only a few weeks into the COVID pandemic’s international lockdowns, meaning studios working onStar Warsprojects hadn’t faced an overwhelming amount of delay yet. This time, it’s been more than a full year of studios developing games remotely instead of under their normal circumstances. Although lots of people might have wanted tomake this year’sStar Warsdaya big one, but knowing how hard things have been over the last few years, it might just not be feasible. It’s possible that all kinds of secret plans have been delayed past May 4th by now.
Of course, there’s always a sliver of hope. Although someprojects likeThe Skywalker Sagaare facing difficulties, others might have managed to push forward with plans for May 4th announcements. No matter how unlikely the circumstances may seem, there’s always a chance that many developers who dabble in theStar Warsfranchise have something to share. Even if everyone only has small events or announcements to reveal, if lots of different studios come together, 2021’s May 4th could still be big. Maybe over the course of April fans will get some teasers of what’s to come toStar Warsin May.
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