I Can’t Decide If I Would Have Loved Or Hated This Canceled Star Wars Game

Star Wars is one of those properties that theoretically could be shaped and shifted to fit any aesthetic or style of game design. However, it’s not going to automatically result in a great game. For every truly memorable Star Wars experience, there are plenty of forgettable riffs on established gameplay mechanics that only spread the franchise thinner and thinner, with their only notable trait being the Star Wars imagery and elements plastered onto the surface.

The latest example of that has been revealed through a reported leak, which illuminated more of “Magellan.” The cancelled Star Wars game would have been a retread of a shooter mechanic that’s well-worn by this point, making it a good thing we didn’t get it in the long run. However, there are also a certain number of fun ideas that could have come out of the title — leaving this writer at a loss over whether or not it’s for the best that we didn’t get the finished game.

This Cancelled Star Wars Game Would Have Been Part Of A Frustrating Trend

Star Wars almost got its own answer to the action RPG genre, but it’s honestly probably for the better that we didn’t get it. As reported by GameSpot, the game was codenamed “Magellan”; the Zynga-owned Echtra Games had been developing the game from 2021 to its cancellation in 2025. On the surface, the game seemed to be pulling from very familiar gameplay tropes, building on the same basic structure as Star Wars: Jedi Hunters. The third-person action RPG focused on traditional shoot-and-loot gameplay, with large-scale maps, plenty of enemies, and different character classes like Jedi and Mandalorian.

The most charitable read of it is a Borderlands-style multiplayer adventure, the type of shooter that has been largely pushed aside in recent years to make way for arena shooters and extraction shooters. The footage that has been made available online has some fun touches, but nothing that actually makes the game stand out from other entries in the genre. It’s fairly one-note and lacks any clear difficulty or challenge, with the player characters mowing down dozens of enemies with relative ease. The straightforward nature of the leaked gameplay and fairly standard set dressing from the Star Wars IP recalls disappointments like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, with a gameplay style that felt basic a decade ago and a design aesthetic that feels outmoded by the likes of Fortnite and Apex Legends.

The poor reception to Star Wars: Hunters probably didn’t help the game’s fortunes, underscoring how difficult a time the recent Star Wars games have had in branching out and successfully reimagining the genre. The loot crate mechanic in particular is something any Star Wars game developer should have been eager to avoid, given the infamy that loot boxes and Star Wars Battlefront II still hold in the gaming space. There’s little to the gameplay, as we’ve seen it, to make it seem like the game was actually going to be worth focusing on. That’s the big problem with “Magellan” in the long run, and why it’s likely for the better that gamers didn’t get their hands on the title. It would have felt like another attempt to use Star Wars to capitalize on an established gameplay trend, too many years too late.

A Star Wars Borderlands Game Kinda Sounds Cool, Though

All that being said, I like Star Wars. I like Borderlands. There’s a basic joy that comes from playing through that game series with a level of bombastic showmanship that’s visually stimulating and easily entertaining. Neither brand is typically the most complex or compelling, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy both. So, despite all my specific reasons for thinking it’s a good thing we didn’t get the Star Wars equivalent of the broad action RPG, I also know I would have likely played it for a bit at least. It may not have been a personal favorite game, but it could have been a fun way to pass the time with some easy targets and wish-fulfillment gameplay.

The leaked footage is akin to a mix of Borderlands structure and the specific legendary heroes of Battlefront II, really putting emphasis on the power imbalance between these major figures and the broader soldiers of the Star Wars galaxy. The Star Wars brand still lends itself well to action-adventure gameplay, with the chance to fly around using a jetpack or carving through hordes of Stormtroopers with a lightsaber all feeling at least entertaining on a surface level. Ultimately, the biggest problem with the game never reaching audiences is the fact that players won’t get the chance to try out the hard work all those developers put into the title. It’s always a shame when a game fails to be released, and there may have been some real fun to be had with this title. It’s why, even as I write this piece, I feel conflicted about a game I disliked in theory but may have nevertheless enjoyed in practice.