Electronic Arts (EA) has new ownership, and it could spell bad news for the hotly anticipated Star Wars Jedi 3. Although not officially announced, Respawn's upcoming sequel has been confirmed to be something the Los Angeles-based studio is working on. However, the winds of change could be blowing, as EA has been acquired by new owners, going private, and shaking its business to its very core.
On Monday, September 29, EA was acquired by the private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, and Affinity Partners for $52.5 billion in what will become the largest private equity buyout ever. And according to noted gaming insiders, this could be the beginning of the end of the video gaming giant.
Speaking on the EA acquisition on Bluesky, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier posited that this EA buyout could mean bad things for games like Respawn's Star Wars Jedi 3.
According to Schreier, this deal will see Silver Lake shoulder the Star Wars Jedi publisher with over $20 billion in debt to fund the purchase.
This is a similar tactic employed in the private equity purchase of Toys "R" Us in the mid-2000s, which resulted in several billion dollars of the purchaser's debt being transferred to the toy store chain. This means that, despite Toys "R" Us being profitable, it could not overcome the massive debt thrust upon it, resulting in its eventual bankruptcy.
Of course, it is too early to tell whether EA will befall the same fate, but it is hard not to look at how the publisher's purchase is being financed and worry.
Also, Schreier noted in his thread on the acquisition that this will likely result in "mass layoffs, more aggressive monetisation, and other big cost-cutting measures:"
"A lot of people are (understandably) focused on the Saudi Arabia and Kushner part of this, but the far bigger immediate impact will come from the new private EA being on the hook for $20 billion in debt.
This could mean mass layoffs, more aggressive monetisation, and other big cost-cutting measures.
Alongside the acquisition, the investors will also be taking on EA’s debt so there is no surprise that they will want to remedy this as soon as possible."
These cost-cutting measures could, per the Financial Times, reportedly include a heavy reliance on AI to "reduce production costs and increase EA's profits in the coming years."
This could mean something like Star Wars Jedi 3 either never sees the light of day, or (if it does) it has been crafted under these new, less-than-ideal development circumstances.
To put it plainly, things surrounding Respawn's upcoming sequel have gotten a lot more uncertain than they were just a few days ago. Projects that were being developed one way could be drastically changed. Studios that once seemed safe could be cut entirely.
It is a new reality that Respawn and Star Wars Jedi 3 find themselves in. A reality with a series of concerning variables that simply were not there in the development of the other two Jedi games.
Star Wars Jedi 3, while not officially announced, is assumed to follow Cameron Monaghan's Jedi-on-the-run, Cal Kestis, as he ventures across the galaxy at the height of the Empire's reign. The last game in Respawn's Jedi franchise, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, was released in 2023 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
When Will Star Wars Jedi 3 Be Released?
Of course, this new ownership situation at EA could throw a wrench into things for Respawn and its Star Wars Jedi 3 plans; however, the game may also be too far along for it to matter too much.
In September 2023, Star Wars Jedi star Cameron Monaghan teased that work was actively being done on the game, and they were "we're in the process of doing it right now:"
"We're working on the third [game] and we're in the process of doing it right now... So, that's a big undertaking and there's been some conversations so far. But hopefully, when all things are said and done, we'll be able to go in and make something really cool for you guys again."
Hopefully, this means that the game is even further along now, two years later, and is getting set for an eventual release.
Respawn took about three-and-a-half years between the release of the first and second Jedi games. If the studio were to follow a similar dev cycle on the third game, that would put its release somewhere around late 2026 or early 2027—that is, if EA's new ownership deal doesn't derail things too badly.
That could mean fans may hear about the title within the next six months or so, setting up a roughly year-long promotional cycle leading up to the game's eventual release.
For now, though, fans can enjoy series hero Cal Kestis in his first-ever Disney+ appearance in the recently released LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Pieces of the Past.
