There's a new Star Wars game on the way, but not everyone will get to play it: Lego Star Wars Battles has just been revealed as an Apple Arcade exclusive on iOS following its shutdown earlier this year.
In Lego Star Wars Battles, players will be able to lead their favorite characters from the franchise into battle through a real-time PvP system. You'll be able to collect and upgrade iconic characters of all stripes from the franchise, including everything from the lowly clone trooper to masterful Jedi such as Yoda.
If this game sounds vaguely familiar to you, you shouldn't be surprised — it had actually been in beta testing on Google Play and elsewhere for well over a year. The developers then made an in-game announcement that it was shutting the game down back in July. Now, this interesting Star Wars game appears to have been rescued by the folks over at the Apple Arcade team.
"Can a flock of porgs take down a stormtrooper? We’ll soon find out," read today's announcement. "Warner Bros. Games, The LEGO Group, and Lucasfilm Games today announced LEGO Star Wars Battles, a new action-strategy game coming soon exclusively to Apple Arcade, Apple’s popular game subscription service."
It's unclear if Apple Arcade simply snagged an exclusivity deal or if it rescued the game from cancellation with a big ol' sack of cash. A similar situation happened just a few days ago with Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls — the game got a shutdown announcement in late 2020 and was subsequently announced as an Apple Arcade exclusive two weeks ago.
When is the Lego Star Wars Battles Release Date?
Unfortunately, the Lego Star Wars Battles release date has not yet been announced. All we know for now is that it's exclusively launching on iOS via Apple Arcade.
For now, you can set a reminder for the game's launch on the Apple Store. You'll need an Apple Arcade membership to play it, though — you can try Apple Arcade for free on iOS right now; this service costs $4.99/month after the trial expires.
What do you think of Lego Star Wars Battles apparently being snapped up as an Apple Arcade exclusive? What's your favorite Lego Star Wars game? Let us know in the comments below!