What Happened to Star Wars Eclipse?

Over the past decade, being a Star Wars fan has been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Disney’s acquisition of the franchise has meant that the volume of content released across all mediums has increased exponentially. On the other, fans and critics agree that this increased volume has had a detrimental impact on the quality of the content being pushed out across film, TV, and video games. Several Star Wars video game projects are currently in active development, but some are much further along than others. One of which, Star Wars Eclipse has seemingly fallen off the radar entirely.

While Star Wars video games have been around for many years, their quality has fluctuated dramatically. Recently, though, there have been signs that this is changing. EA’s Star Wars Jedi series has received strong scores from critics, and Ubisoft’s upcoming Star Wars Outlaws, the first-ever Star Wars open-world game, looks promising. Star Wars Eclipse, a narrative-drive game from developer Quantic Dream, was initially announced in 2021 with a gorgeous-looking cinematic trailer. However, a lack of updates since the initial announcement has probably left many wondering if the project is still active.

Star Wars Eclipse Exists but Is Likely Still a Ways Off

Quantic Dream is the talented studio behind the likes of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, two narrative-heavy, choice-driven games where you’re tasked with making key decisions that will have a huge bearing on how the story pans out. This allows everyone to craft their own unique playthrough based on specific choices made. For many, the prospect of crafting their own Star Wars story and being faced with crucial decisions that could branch into entirely different playthroughs is a super exciting one.

Quantic Dream’s CEO, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, previously told IGN that Star Wars Eclipse will be an action-adventure title at its heart, but he was quick to point out it would still stay true to the developer’s signature fundamentals. This will be music to the ears of those who feel the studio’s previous titles have been a little too light on actual gameplay, with such a heavy focus on storytelling.

Unfortunately, though, Eclipse‘s development hasn’t exactly been smooth so far. It was initially suggested back in 2021 that the game was maybe three or four years away, but the French developer has since struggled to hire staff, and there were no further updates for almost two years. Then, during a September 2023 interview with IGN, Lisa Pendse, Quantic Dream’s Marketing VP, confirmed the game still exists. She claimed that it was simply not ready yet and described it as “simmering.” This came as a blow to those who were hoping it was near completion.

The fact that we’re almost mid-way through 2024 and there are still no updates regarding Star Wars Eclipse indicates Pendse was probably not exaggerating with her use of simmering. It seems like it isn’t moving along as quickly as hoped. The biggest Summer showcases have come and gone, and Eclipse hasn’t shown up. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Now more so than ever, developers are super cautious about showing off upcoming games that just aren’t ready to be shared. If Eclipse falls into this category, then there’s probably a good reason for it, and, just like the Jedi’s sworn enemy, the Sith, it will surely reveal itself when it’s ready.