Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella confirmed today that their upcoming title Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, will not contain any microtransactions or multiplayer components.
Ahead of the game's official reveal tomorrow, Zampella confirmed those details during the Day 1 live stream of this year's Star Wars Celebration, currently taking place in Chicago.
Around the 3:07:43 mark, Zampella takes the stage to reveal that, "It's a single-player story with no multiplayer and no microtransactions. It's a story game."
The live stream, which featured one-on-one interviews with cast members of Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker, has been posted online for all to see. The video below has been timestamped to Zampella's section.
https://youtu.be/B8USteFyVaY?t=11263
Very few details, save for a bit of art and some confirmed information by the dev team, have been revealed for Jedi Fallen Order. What is known for sure is that the game is being developed on the Unreal Engine over the Frostbite Engine and that the game's story will take place during the "Dark Times" in the Star Wars timeline - essentially after the execution of Order 66 by Emperor Palpatine from Episode III. Lastly, it is also known that the game will have six narrative designers, including the likes of Aaron Contreras (Mafia 3) and Chris Avellone (Fallout: New Vegas).
Respawn is planning to a full-scale reveal tomorrow at the Star Wars Celebration, around 1:30 PM CT (2:30 EST). The game's first trailer is expected, along with further details on the games overall narrative and features, and a possible release date.
Quick Take
Honestly, this should not be big news but is because the game is being done by EA, who has famously noted that they are not interested in primarily single-player games in favor of multiplayer or service-style games.It is curious that Respawn is able to make the game as is without Frostbite and without the typical EA restrictions thrust upon them. Even companies like BioWare have been more or less forced down that route at this point. My guess is because the game is part of their deal with Disney, that it became a mandate by Disney to make it single player only (perhaps following the Star Wars Battlefront 2 issues).
Of course, that is just super speculation on my part. We ultimately have no idea what or why, though I'd honestly argue it shouldn't matter much as the quality of the game is independent of its ultimate function. We shall see if Respawn can deliver something good with Jedi Fallen Order.
What are your thoughts on all of this? Leave your comments below.