Developer Bit Reactor Looks to “Push the Strategy Genre” With Upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Game
In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Greg Foertsch, CEO of Bit Reactor, spoke about his team’s process for making their next game — a Star Wars strategy game — in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment. Foertsch stated that his goal is to “make a game and have people say, ‘Man, that’s an amazing game, and oh, it happens to be a strategy game.'”
Last year, it was announced that the newly-formed studio, Bit Reactor, had signed on to develop their first game, a Star Wars strategy game, with developer Respawn Entertainment. Many of those hired at Bit Reactor have worked on strategy games like X-Com and Marvel’s Midnight Suns in the past. Since the initial announcement, no new information has come out. Yet, CEO Greg Foertsch looks to set expectations high.
When speaking about the collaboration between his studio and Respawn Entertainment, Foertsch had very positive remarks. He stated that Respawn has been “super supportive” in its vision “to really push the genre.” He continued by saying, “This is how [game] development should be.”
Foertsch also commented on the state of the strategy genre as a whole. He lamented that the strategy genre hasn’t had much innovation over the past few years, and wishes to change that with Bit Reactor’s next Star Wars game:
“[Strategy is] the genre with the most room to grow, innovate and change, and have rich stories and immersive art, and it just hasn’t gotten its due.”
Foertsch also illustrated how Bit Reactor is very focused on forward innovation, doing things his team hasn’t done before. He emphasized how his team doesn’t want to draw too much inspiration from past work like X-Com, but to come up with newer ideas:
“We’re not really looking backwards anymore at any of the things we’ve made. We’re aware of them, we know some of the mistakes … so we can stop things ahead of time that would be dangerous … But we have very clear ideas on things that we can really, really, really change, so we’re excited about that.”
One of the areas it appears they’re hoping to improve upon is the game’s overall camerawork and cinematics. While strategy games aren’t known for their flashy cinematography or action-packed cutscenes, Foertsch highlights Bit Reactor’s cinematic director who previously worked on the Gears of War franchise, and how he is helping the team innovate:
“He just brings a totally different sensibility to all the camerawork. He has ideas that I never had, and so for me, I’m just like, throw it all out there and I’ll tell you where to cross the line, and I’ll reel it back in.”
In other news, Respawn’s Star Wars: Jedi Survivor has been nominated for two awards at The Game Awards. It’s nominated for “Best Action/Adventure” and “Best Performance” for actor Cameron Monaghan.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
