Star Wars: Hunters, a free-to-play team-based battle arena shooter, is releasing on June 4, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. It is being co-developed by Zynga and Lucasfilm Games.
At launch, Star Wars: Hunters features 13 characters–all of whom are unique. They are all meant to embody the various types of roles heroes and villains serve in the galaxy from far, far, away. Some of them are exciting takes on old tropes that have yet to be explored, like a droid named J-3DI who believes it is part of the Order.
The full character list is as follows:
- Sprocket (Mon Calamari Prodigy)
- Utooni (Jawa Scavengers)
- Zaina (Rebel War Hero)
- Grozz (Wookie Juggernaught)
- Skora (Rodian Sawbones)
- J-3DI (Jedi Droid)
- Aran Tal (Mandalorian Vanguard)
- Rieve (Dark Side Assassin)
- Sentinel (Imperial Heavy Gunner)
- Diago (Miraluka Sharpshooter)
- Imara Vex (Unrelenting Bounty Hunter)
- Slingshot (Droideka Speedster)
- Charr (Trandoshan Trapper)
Many of these characters seem silly in nature, but this plays into the concept of the game, where they are competing in a “fight tournament” similar to pro wrestling in our world.
According to Zynga art director Dominic Estephane in an interview with StarWars.com, “They’re larger-than-life personalities, similar to pro wrestling…Using Grozz as an example, he’s our super heavyweight and he’s a showman, but in reality, he’s a former Huttball pro. He brings that persona to the arena, but he dials it up for the fans and the crowd, the audience watching at home.”
“It’s in the presentation, as well. It’s a live show broadcast. We have our version of a jumbotron. If you’re familiar with pro wrestling, where they have the big-screen jumbotrons, each Hunter has their own graphics package that you see on the screen within our roster screen in the game. Each Hunter has their own music theme, which is really, really awesome. We have what we call, internally, ‘Hunter’s spectacle.’ That is, how would the Hunters walk out on stage and present themselves? And once they walk out, their music is playing, as well. So we think our best-in-class visuals on mobile really help deliver and showcase that progress and influence.”
Star Wars: Hunters was announced way back in 2020 with the goal of launching by the end of 2021. It actually had a soft launch in 2021 on Android devices in India, New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Yet, it got delayed until this year. It’s a new and exciting experience for Star Wars fans of all ages to enjoy.