Star Wars Jedi: Survivor artist explains why the industry is making original games less and less often

Recently, Del Walker, a character artist, wrote a post on social network X. He notes that publishers have stopped investing huge amounts of money in games with original ideas, preferring cautious sequels and profitable “service games” with manipulative mechanics to keep the player’s attention.

Del emphasizes that video game development has become extremely expensive these days: “GTA 3 cost about $5 million. Nowadays, for “triple-A” projects, the budget of less than 100 million is “tiny”. According to him, if mid-budget games disappear, the industry will stop developing.

Walker points out that although thousands of games are released on Steam every year, players do not buy them en masse because users' attention is limited and it is too difficult to find an interesting game.

Star Wars Jedi 3 release date divides fans

Some players believe that the third game in the Star Wars Jedi trilogy could be released in the near future, while others question it.

In a recent episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast podcast, host Tim Gettys hinted that he had "heard some things" about the Respawn Entertainment project. It is expected that the release will take place before the end of 2026:

I think the sequel to Jedi Survivor has a good chance of coming out this year. I don't think it's guaranteed, but I'm just wondering where the announcement will take place.

Gettys later clarified that he was not sure about the release this year. He noted that he did not say this directly.

Enthusiasts are developing a VR version of KOTOR - the prologue is already playable

While the official remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remains without news, enthusiasts have taken up the matter themselves. One of the Reddit users under the nickname BearableBastard is developing a VR version of the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic using the Unity engine - and has already made the prologue playable.

In the latest video, the author showed significant progress. Unlike the original with a turn-based system and automatic animations, in the VR version the player can independently swing a lightsaber and manually deflect blaster shots. Force abilities are also implemented - for example, lightning and tremors, which are activated through the menu and used directly in battle.

Tony Gilroy talks about the significance of Andor, Dave Filoni and the future of Lucasfilm in a new interview

Nobody does interviews like Tony Gilroy. Anyone who's followed the press tour and awards campaign for Andor over the past year knows that few filmmakers provide as insightful and eloquent answers to questions as Gilroy. Now that the hype around the hit Star Wars series has died down, Gilroy sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and spoke at length about the political significance of the series, rumors that Dave Filoni doesn't like 'Andor', the future of Lucasfilm and more.

George Lucas Named Fourth Greatest American Innovator by Forbes

George Lucas was named the fourth greatest American innovator on Forbes' list of the top 250 living innovators in honor of America's 250th anniversary, behind only Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

One of the founding fathers of the modern blockbuster, Lucas also revolutionized movie merchandising with an endless tsunami of Star Wars action figures and Indiana Jones lunch boxes. Through his special effects company Industrial Light & Magic and his sound company THX, he sold his tools to other filmmakers.

See the full list here.

Strange Super Bowl trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu explained

The situation regarding the Super Bowl ad for The Mandalorian & Grogu has been explained. The fact is that the new trailer left fans completely bewildered.

For several weeks, rumors have been circulating about a new video for the blockbuster Star Wars. After a lackluster debut teaser, fans were hoping that the second trailer could drum up excitement for the upcoming adventure. However, what they got instead was a strange 30-second spot that parodied one of the most famous Super Bowl commercials, the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The article by Variety details the eyebrow-raising Super Bowl ad for The Mandalorian and Grogu. There is also an official statement from Lucasfilm management about the reasons for this decision. It turns out that the commercial was directed by The Mandalorian and Grogu director Jon Favreau.

The head of the studio's marketing department, Ryan Stankiewicz, said that the unique trailer was intended to "pay homage to the classic commercials of yesteryear." The goal was to convey "the warmth, humor and emotional connection between these two beloved characters."

Disney Executive Vice President of Creative Marketing Jackson George added: “Grogu is more than just a character; It’s a pop culture phenomenon.” Therefore, he was considered an ideal candidate for a parody.

An unexpected character from The Mandalorian and Grogu has a strange connection to Dave Filoni

As revealed in the new trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, released this week, bounty hunter Embo will make his feature film debut in the upcoming Star Wars film.

As noted by user @jtimsuggs on Twitter/X, there is a rather strange story about how Dave Filoni came up with the voice for Embo.

In a video dedicated to the episode “Bounty Hunters” of the series “The Clone Wars, published on StarWars.com, Filoni detailed how he was inspired by the French book about the Smurfs when voicing Embo.

“I had to come up with a language for Embo. My editor, Nick Anastassiou, who is French, had books about the Smurfs, all written in French, because his son Alex sometimes comes and reads them. I just took one of them, even though I don't speak French. I opened it and deliberately pronounced French words very poorly. Nick ended up loving it, and so did the director [Steward Lee]. So in the end I am Embo.”

Details about Star Wars: Galaxy Racer

So, the upcoming Star Wars game is being developed by former Need for Speed and Burnout developers and will have an “immersive single-player campaign” with branching paths.

There will be an online multiplayer game with 12 racers. They also promise a scenario mode with unique racing conditions.

Vehicles include sub-racers, repulsors, landspeeders, skidders, and speeder bikes. The game doesn't have a season pass - "It's a premium version... We want it to be complete when it comes out."