Though not without its share of problems, Star Wars Outlaws seems to have successfully scratched the itch fans had for a new Star Wars game. Being the lucrative media franchise that it is, it is an absolute certainty that a new Star Wars game will release in the future, and it may come from an unexpected source.

Quantic Dream is best known as the developers and publishers of Detroit: Become Human, as well as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. All three games are interactive adventure games with dramatic plots and are almost entirely story driven. There are occasional action sequences, but they mainly serve to break up the interactive story beats.

So it came as a surprise to fans watching the 2021 Game Awards when a trailer played for a Star Wars game from Quantic Dream, titled Star Wars: Eclipse. The trailer just showed cinematic scenes conceivably from the Star Wars universe, a solar eclipse (hence the game title) and a bunch of shirtless people drumming. While lots of the scenes look visually stunning, there was no gameplay or even any indication of what kind of game it would be.

Quantic Dream indicated in a press release that the game will follow the same format they have used for their previous successful games, a departure from previous Star Wars titles such as Outlaws and the Soulslike Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Even the VR episodic game series Vader: Immortal fell under the action adventure genre. Should the game continue development as a narrative adventure game, it would fall firmly outside the popular genres for current Star Wars games.

With that being said, Quantic Dream has a dedicated fan base, and Detroit: Become Human in particular exploded in popularity upon release. Many would agree that Quantic Dream puts out genuinely good work. While Quantic Dream is not a terribly large studio both in terms of staff size and financial resources, but even without the capacity to release a Triple-A game, a Quantic Dream-developed title will always be a big deal due to their reputation.

Right now, Star Wars: Eclipse is the biggest game in the Star Wars franchise actively in development, and it is far and away the biggest Star Wars game that has been in development for over two years. While there is no release date yet for the game, and Quantic Dream has been radio silent on the project, the telltale signs of a quietly cancelled game are not present. The title is still at the top of the upcoming games list and still featured prominently on their site. In this era of gaming, a gap of three years or more between reveal and release is not uncommon.

Fans will likely be satisfied with Star Wars: Outlaws for the foreseeable future, but in the video game industry, it’s all about the next big thing. For now, Outlaws is that next big thing, but Quantic Dream is leading the footrace for the heir of the Star Wars spotlight.