It’s been nearly five years since Quantic Dream and Lucasfilm Games first announced Star Wars Eclipse. Fans were impressed with the initial cinematic trailer that debuted at the 2021 Game Awards. But rumors of development struggles have plagued the game since near the beginning, leaving many to fear it might never see the light of day. Quantic Dream also recently had to shut down Spellcaster Chronicles after less than a year. Now, employees at the studio are reportedly going on strike to “save Star Wars Eclipse.”
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News of Quantic Dream’s strike broke late in the day on June 26th, via a report from French video game site Game Kult. Following the shutdown of Spellcaster Chronicles, Netease is reportedly planning to lay off over 100 of the employees who were working on the project. The strike is in response to this decision, as those working on Star Wars Eclipse claim they’re already understaffed and could put those additional people to work on the game.
Quantic Dream Strike Suggests Struggles on Star Wars Eclipse Continue
Star Wars Eclipse has already been in development for a while. Earlier this year, rumors suggested that the game was still many years away. And from the sounds of it, the team at Quantic Dream is feeling the pressure. Revenue from Spellcaster Chronicles was supposed to help fund work on Star Wars Eclipse. But the multiplayer game was a failure, and Quantic Dreams wound up refunding customers’ purchases. Now, those who worked on the project are reportedly at risk of layoffs from NetEase, which bought the studio back in 2022.
A source from Quantic Dreams told Game Kult that the team is already “severely understaffed.” As such, they’ve been working overtime to try and keep Eclipse moving forward. And that means the plan to lay off over 100 developers who could instead be shifting to work on the Star Wars game isn’t sitting well with employees. The strike is supposedly an effort to “save Star Wars Eclipse” by bringing the employees from Spellcaster Chronicles into the fold. From the sound of it, development has been a challenge, and employees fear the game will never come to fruition without additional help.
Though employees hope their strike can convince NetEase to make necessary changes, it’s not a good sign for Star Wars Eclipse. Development will, of course, be on pause during the strike itself. Depending on where things land, the future of the project could be at risk. As of now, NetEase has not formally commented on the strike, so it’s unclear whether the company will agree to retain any of the employees from Spellcaster Chronicles. If they don’t, it sounds like the team currently working on Star Wars Eclipse isn’t confident it can finish the game without extra help. Given how promising this looked as a big, narrative-driven title in the Star Wars universe, that would be a shame.
For now, all we know is that Quantic Dream is officially on strike. Hopefully, this can help the developer get the support it needs to bring its ambitious Star Wars game to life.
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