Back in 2021, developer Zynga (FarmVille, Words With Friends) unveiled a squad-based, Overwatch-like hero shooter using the Star Wars license. Dubbed Star Wars: Hunters, this free-to-play PvP experience was originally slated to launch later that year, but was delayed to 2023 in July 2022. Now, the game has been delayed again.
Zynga took to X (formerly Twitter) to deliver the news, saying thatStar Wars: Hunters has been delayed to 2024 to “meet [the] highest level of quality” and promising that its co-developer NaturalMotion is “committed to creating the best experience” for everyone.
The studio then thanked folks for checking out the “soft launch” of the game (a closed beta that required interested players to register for accces) that kicked off in late January, saying that “several exciting new elements,” including a ranked mode and updates to core gameplay mechanics, still need some work before Star Wars: Hunters launches globally.
“Game delays are frustrating, for both fans and us as developers, but our top priority remains to ensure players have the best possible experience,” Zynga said. “We continue to strive toward that goal, on Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS devices. Thank you for your understanding and we’ll see you in the Arena.”
Kotaku reached out to Zynga for comment.
Aside from the closed beta, Star Wars: Hunters has been MIA since its February 2021 announcement during a Nintendo Direct presentation. At the time, all we saw was a brief teaser trailer before some official gameplay footage arrived in September of the same year. Immediately after that, NaturalMotion and Zynga went dark, talking very little about the project. Now we know why: The game needs more time in the oven.
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