Publisher Warner Bros. Games has announced its latest LEGO Star Wars game will be exclusive to the Apple Arcade gaming subscription service.
The upcoming LEGO Star Wars Battles will be developed by long-time LEGO game house TT Games‘ Brighton studio. Described as an “action strategy” game, Battles will allow players to “mix and match characters and vehicles from all eras of the Star Wars galaxy to create unstoppable squads.”
The game appears to mix elements of tower defence and deckbuilding games, as players will deploy troops to destroy an opponent’s base while defending their own. Units seem to be dropped onto the field from a hand of virtual cards, and TT Games also promises the ability to utilise “both sides of the Force with a deck of light side and dark side armies, each with their own play style.”
LEGO Star Wars Battles will also draw inspiration from across the wider Star Wars universe, from the main films to spinoffs such as The Clone Wars and Rogue One. The arenas each battle will take place in will include “Scarif, Naboo, Hoth, Endor, Geonosis, and more”.
“Our team has been working to bring mobile players a new and wholly original LEGO Star Wars experience, exclusively on Apple Arcade,” said Jason Avent, studio head of TT Games Brighton, via statement. “LEGO Star Wars Battles blends real-time multiplayer matches, striking visuals and the charm of LEGO Star Wars in fun, fast-paced gameplay.”
There’s no release date for LEGO Star Wars Battles yet, but Warner Bros. Games says it’s “coming soon”. Players won’t be able to buy it individually when it does arrive though, as it’s currently only planned for release as part of Apple Arcade, Apple’s gaming subscription platform that first launched in September 2019.
The service offers unlimited access to 200+ “premium” games available on the iOS App Store for a £4.99 ($4.99 USD) monthly fee. The service is largely designed to drive mobile gaming away from free-to-play, advert-driven games that push in-app purchases, and towards fuller featured titles that can compete with those found on consoles or PC. It has already attracted exclusive titles such as Fantasian, developed by Mistwalker and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Elsewhere, Nintendo’s subscription service Nintendo Switch Online may be getting a retro boost with the rumoured arrival of original Game Boy games coming as soon as September 2021.
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