Lucasarts is developing "Star Wars: First Assault," a multiplayer FPS meant to set the stage for one of modern gaming's long lost projects, "Star Wars: Battlefront III."
According to Kotaku, Lucasarts had planned to announce "First Assault" and launch a closed beta last fall, but scratched the plan when they caught wind that Disney planned to buy the company, predicting (accurately) that the sale could hold up the game's release.
Earlier this month, Kotaku also reported that "Star Wars 1313," the unoffcially next-gen adventure you that could be described as "Uncharted: Star Wars," was put on hold earlier this year by Lucasarts after the publisher was purchased by Disney. That report refers to "First Assault" as a "'Call of Duty'-style first-person shooter" called "Trigger," and suggests that the game was part of a large wave of new "Star Wars" games. When Disney took control of Lucasarts, all of those projects need to be reapproved, so "Frontal Assault" is currently in limbo.
The actual facts about "First Assault" are few and far between. The game would feature 8-on-8 multiplayer matches: One side plays as stormtroopers, the other controls the rebels. The game's two confirmed levels were Tattooine and Bespine.
"First Assault" was made, in part, to serve as a test balloon meant to convince Lucasarts to re-open the door for "Star Wars Battlefront III." Infamous for its long rumor cycle and last-minute cancellation, Lucasarts may have been willing to consider the idea of making a new "Battlefront III" if Lucasarts could prove that fans would support a AAA-style "Star Wars" shooter.
More than that, if greenlit "Battlefront III" would use code made for "First Assault," and a small part of the team was already putting stuff into the latter that wouldn't be used in the game, including vehicle controls for an AT-ST and a Tie Fighter.
Disney has said they plan to limit "Star Wars" games to social and mobile games, so it's entirely possible that we never get to play "Star Wars: First Assault."
