The Star Wars Game Everyone Wants Might Finally Be Happening
A long time ago in a video game market not so far away, "Star Wars" games weren't afraid to explore a galaxy beyond the lightsaber. Titles such as "Star Wars: Republic Commando'," which was recently resurrected for newer platforms, demonstrated that the Force could be with titles that didn't focus on or even feature Force-wielders. Gamers fell in love with the gritty underbelly of the "Star Wars” universe, which combined with the gravitational pull of charismatic bounty hunters like Boba Fett to create intriguing projects like the cancelled "Star Wars 1313." While Mandalorian popularity has a new face (er, mask) thanks to the hit Disney+ show "The Mandalorian," the desire for a new video game starring a galactic bounty hunter has not died down. Apparently, neither has the desire to create one.
Recently, rumors have hit the internet that a "Mandalorian" video game tie-in is in production. The source of these rumors is the king of the shelf tease and Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft, Phil Spencer. He has a habit of decorating the background shelves of his video calls with hints of things to come, occasionally hiding game announcements in plain sight.
The latest iteration of Spencer's storied shelf aired during the GamesBeat Summit 2021, which featured numerous controllers, a Kojima Productions Ludens figure, and according to eagle-eyed viewers (including XboxEra.com founder Nick Baker), a "Mandalorian" Funko Pop figure. While Baker's initial tweet has since been deleted, Reddit has catalogued his post.
Because Spencer has a history of teasing future releases (he once stashed an Xbox Series S between some books long before its reveal), many fans took the figure as definitive evidence of an upcoming game based on "The Mandalorian." Moreover, Baker stated in no uncertain terms that the game was actually in development by an unnamed team.
There's just one problem, though: it wasn't actually a "Mandalorian" Funko Pop. This is an easy mistake, since the figure was far away and blurry. Baker amended his original post to reflect this error, but he didn't retract his "there's going to be a Mando game" statement. According to Baker's source (who he hopes wasn't burned because of this gaffe), "The Mandalorian" is still receiving a video game tie-in, Funko Pop notwithstanding.
Granted, until any associated studios unveil a definitive announcement, Baker's claims regarding a game based on "The Mandalorian" is hearsay. However, it's convincing hearsay, especially given a recent MrMattyPlays video that claims Xbox "wants to take the Lucasfilm route" and is "working on a pretty well-known IP."