Survivor coming to Xbox One or PS4?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was officially announced today along with a release date and platforms. And if you’re planning on playing the highly anticipated sequel, you’re going to need to upgrade to the current-gen, meaning Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5 or PC.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will only be released on these newer consoles and PC, not Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch. While I appreciate what this will mean from a graphical and gameplay standpoint, it’s also unfortunate for those who have been unable to actually buy an Xbox Series X|S or PS5 due to the supply shortages.

The good news is that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor isn’t slated to release until 2023, and it will probably be towards the end of the year, so hopefully some of the supply chain issues will have eased up by then. But there’s no guarantee and things aren’t looking too promising right now.

Not much is known about the game right now — we’ve only seen a brief cinematic teaser — but EA and Respawn have promised “to create a deeper and more expansive Star Wars experience” with Jedi: Survivor. We’ll get a better idea as to what this means when we see actual gameplay, but perhaps this indicates some more than a linear action-adventure.

Game director Stig Asmussen teased: “We’re leveraging advanced technology to create more dynamic Jedi combat and cinematic storytelling to expand on Cal’s story as he matrues and survives during the dark times.” Combat was already Jedi: Fallen Order’s strong suit, so I’m intrigued to see how Respawn will build upon these mechanics.

Even beyond the combat, maybe we’ll be able to freely explore multiple planets or complete side missions for the “array of unique and interesting characters” we’ll meet on Cal’s journey. I loved the side characters in Jedi: Fallen Order but was disappointed that we didn’t get to do more with them. I’m hoping Jedi: Survivor takes more of a Mass Effect approach to side characters, allowing you to talk to and learn more about them, even completing side missions for them. I don’t need branching storylines with multiple endings, but just some expansion on their backstory will be nice.