Fans of lightsabers and PvP are treated to the 5v5 competitive matches featuring many archetypes familiar to movie series lovers in this Star Wars game. You can play as lightsaber-wielding heroes and villains, a heavily armed Stormtrooper, or even Jawa, Wookie, and Trandoshan in iconic arenas like Mos Eisley. But there might be one huge question that you might think of considering the arena and characters. Are the Star Wars Hunters settings a canon part of the whole universe in the galaxy far, far away?
Yes, the developers have confirmed that Star Wars Hunters takes place after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Speaking in movie timeline terms, it’s somewhere between Return of the Jedi and the start of the sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens.
However, do note one interesting point though: the deathmatch itself is a “fake” in-universe TV show that’s broadcasted all over the galaxy. Set in the Outer Rim planet of Vespaara, a slug-like businessman, Balada the Hutt, owns the Grand Arena stadium. There, Hunters of the Outer Rim, a wrestling-like match, is held where a bunch of scoundrels compete for fame and fortune. These trophy-chasers, called Hunters, are recruited and trained to perform for the crowd by the competition’s co-owner, a former contestant named Daq Dragus.
As mentioned above, the characters we play are even just your common galactic citizens living their normal lives outside of the game show. Take the lightsaber-wielding Rieve, as an example. In the game, she’ll be your go-to evil Sith character; interestingly, outside the arena, she’s an orphaned Force-sensitive trying to make a name for herself. Sentinel the Stormtrooper also renounced his allegiance to the Empire after its defeat against the Rebel army but kept the armor for the watchers’ attention.
Speaking with Radiotimes.com, senior art director Rich Kemp added that the Star Wars Hunters settings are an opportunity to expand the canon with “exciting characters.”
“Having a game that exists in canon in the universe is a massive privilege. We just want to keep expanding the universe of Star Wars as best we can, introducing new exciting characters.”
“And if they make their way into [TV] shows or if they make their way into books, comics, that’s awesome. It just makes our characters feel all the more alive. And yeah, we already think of them as alive. So hopefully other people will too.”
Rich Kemp, Star Wars Hunters art director via Radiotimes.com
Outside of Star Wars Hunters, a number of the game characters have appeared in other canon media. Rieve appears in Hunters: Battle for the Arena novel while Imara Vex stars in War of the Bounty Hunters comic book, facing Lord Vader himself.
There you have it. Having a droid playing dress-up as a Jedi fighting a duo of Droideka and Ugnaught might look outlandish. Turns out, we can handwave it as just a canon TV show in the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars Hunters is available on Mobile and Nintendo Switch.
