Star Wars: Empire At War isn't often mentioned in discussions about the greatest Star Wars games ever made, but it should be.
Released for PC back in 2006 by Petroglyph Games - a studio you might recognise from its excellent work on 2020's Command & Conquer remasters - Empire At War is an epic real-time strategy game. Set between Episodes III and IV, it focuses on the earliest days of the budding war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance.
While hardly the most innovative strategy game out there, the way in which it combined infantry-based land battles with large-scale space battles was a thrill to see, especially as Petroglyph's love of the Star Wars license was evident in every lovingly recreated planet, spaceship, and vehicle. Empire At War might not have been to everyone's tastes... but for lovers of Star Wars and RTS titles, it was a dream come true.
Petroglyph has continued to update the game over the years, although there hasn't been much noise in regards to a sequel - until now. Earlier this year we learned that Lucasfilm was bringing the long-dormant Lucasfilm Games brand back for the dead as the new home for all its gaming properties - including all future Star Wars titles. We've already heard about an open-world Star Wars game from Ubisoft, as well as rumours of Knights Of The Old Republic 3. It's now sounding like the door is open for more old favourites to return, Empire At War chief among them.
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Reddit user mtol115 recently dropped an email to Ted Morris, an executive producer at Petroglyph who's been with the studio since the days of Empire At War. When asked by mtol115 if Empire At War could ever come back for a sequel or remake, Morris noted that there's "always a possibility".
"We are continuing to talk to the people responsible to see if it's something we might be able to get involved in," he wrote. "Stay tuned!"
While this is hardly direct confirmation that Empire At War 2 is in the works, it's comforting to know that there are actually people out there having these discussions. I woke up this morning thinking I was one of the only people that wanted to see the franchise come back. To know that the original developers are looking into make it happen? Well, that makes everything that much brighter.
Featured Image Credit: Petrogylph Games