LucasArts making "Aerial Combat Title"

By Tom Phillips Published 15 September, 2011

"Space-based shooter" experience "a plus".

X-Wing and Tie Fighter dev LucasArts is hiring staff for an Aerial Combat Title.

Experience with flight sims, aerial shooters and "especially space-based shooters" is considered "a plus", according to a senior gameplay engineer job advert.

Could LucasArts be in the throes of reviving 1990's spaceship shooter series X-Wing?

Other LucasArts job posts tease an action adventure game and a first-person shooter.

There's no indication yet of what they are. A third Star Wars Battlefront game has long been lost in development purgatory, and was once in the hands of TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design.

Earlier this year, LucasArts signed the Unreal engine for use in "multiple" titles. LucasArts boss Paul Meegan also promised to make better games than 5/10 effort The Force Unleashed 2.

The recent Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (52) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ChuckNorris #1 8 months ago

    Wonder what universe it's going to be based upon. Too hard to tell at this point.

  • makariel #2 8 months ago

    I want a new tie fighter or secret weapons of the luftwaffe!

  • bodypopper #3 8 months ago

    More likely to be Starfighter - The Clone Wars these days I would have thought.

  • President_Weasel #4 8 months ago

    It's "throes".

    And it'll probably be a terrible disappointment to those of us hankering for a good old fashioned XWing game with none of this new-fangled nonsense from the other three films or KOTOR.

    Also, unless they're having a pretty terrible time of it, they're not actually in "throes" since it means agonising pain or struggles.

    [link url=http://www.grammarist.com/usage/in-the-throes-of/
    ]http://www.grammarist.com/usage/in-the-t...[/link]

    Edited by President_Weasel at 15/09/11 @ 14:58

  • digoutyoursoul #5 8 months ago

    dont understand lucasarts

    "hey la we want battlefront 3 for 360,pc and ps3"

    "here is monkey island hd"

  • Eldritch #6 8 months ago

    T I E F I G H T E R ! ! !

  • bad09 #7 8 months ago

    We just been talking about this on the forums, really hope it's X-wing/TIE fighter. I reckon the FPS is a new Jedi Knight and the action adventure is a sequel to Shadows Of The Empire...and they are working on all these because Battlefront 3 is finished and they are about to unveil it.

    / dreams

  • DozyKipper #8 8 months ago

    We really need something like Freelancer, Privateer, Elite this generation. There are NO space flight games of any note at all.

  • the_dudefather #9 8 months ago

    Maniac Mansion 3: Meteor's revenge

  • President_Weasel #10 8 months ago

    Are they also going to hire a "hoard" of coders and artists for these titles? Grumble mutter kids these days don't know they're born, mumble grumble spellcheck is no substitute for actually knowing words mutter mutter.
    Edited by President_Weasel at 15/09/11 @ 15:13

  • schnide #11 8 months ago

    The first person shooter will be called Vader Hunt, it'll be like Duck Hunt except every time you kill a Darth he screams "Noooooo.. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

  • teamtink #12 8 months ago

    @DozyKipper can't agree more. Theres some good indie ones such as Evochron, but none as good as the oldies :-)

  • kingcrowbar #13 8 months ago

    It'll be Astromech Adventures, a Kinect/Move controlled "experience" where you get to repair spaceships weapons and shield systems in a manner completely unlike a tower defence game.

  • supascud #14 8 months ago

    Lucas has a new film coming out called 'Red Tails' or something like that about WWII fighter pilots. I'm guessing the game could be based on that.

  • Razorus #15 8 months ago

    Ooooh, a revival of the best SW games would be FOR THE WIN. Never played X-Wing, but heard it was boom. I sense the time is right for a new Jedi Academy or Dark Forces game. Maybe an HD Dark Forces on XBLA and PSN? Or Jedi Outcast, one of my favourites. Battlefront 3 NEEDS to happen at some point, and I wouldn't say no to a Republic Commando sequel.

  • bad09 #16 8 months ago

    "and I wouldn't say no to a Republic Commando sequel"

    RC is in my currently playing list and I fully support this statement. Imperial Commando needs to happen eventually.

  • ollyn #17 8 months ago

    Grim Fandango 2 (With added space battles).

    In all seriousness though i am a little fed up of star wars games and TOR hasn't even been released yet. Don't get me wrong it's a great universe but after Dark Forces, Jedi Knight 1,2,3, Shadows of the Empire, Rebel Assault 1+2, rogue squadron, galactic battlegrounds and Force Unleashed games I am just about Star Warsed out. Much rather see a full fledged Monkey Island or Grim Fandango but probably won't happen.

  • Crea #18 8 months ago

    Why would you go and work for LucasArts when they lay off entire teams so frequently when things don't go their way?

  • MiY4MOTO #19 8 months ago

    Just give me a HD remake of X-Wing, TIE-Fighter along with the expansions and the multiplayer stuffs from X-Wing Vs TIE-Fighter (making full use of the current-gen hardware) and I'll be a very happy man.

    Well, I can but dream. It'll probably end up being another Rogue Squadron game, Shadows of The Empire remake or similar.

  • Desheep #20 8 months ago

    Just wait for the marketing people to suggest that the x-wing series has had its day and that this new game will be a fps

  • munki83 #21 8 months ago

    I have a feeling that its going to be more along the lines of jedi starfighter than tie fighter. We need to assume that it will be cross platform and that will limit it in terms of controls. I hope I'm wrong.

  • Seoh #22 8 months ago

    @Dozykipper,

    A freelancer type game set in the star wars universe would be amazing.

  • BSMR #23 8 months ago

    The space ref could be a red herring, it could be a Red Tails movie tie in.

  • RodHull #24 8 months ago

    XBLA and PSN release of X-Wing,(vs) Tie Fighter and X-Wing Alliance? Please! If true I'll forgive you Mr Lucas for all those "Nooooooooooooooooooooo!s"

  • IronGiant #25 8 months ago

    Checkout the vids of Starhawk as that's got some pretty sweet looking space combat :)

  • Razorus #26 8 months ago

    And while I'm at it, a proper KOTOR 3 would be swell. Just absolutely swell. I'm not an MMO guy, and I don't want to continue the story in a game I won't play.

  • bad09 #27 8 months ago

    @RodHull

    How on Earth would you get them on XBLA and PSN? There are just too many controls you would get a limited version of the game controlwise. Flight, power, communications there are just too many buttons for a joypad alone.

    Which does make me wonder, if it is a new X-wing/TIE Fighter will it be PC exclusive still or will it go multiplatform which as munki83 says will greatly limit the game. Hmm...

  • schnide #28 8 months ago

    @RodHull

    It would take a lot more than that for me to forgive him.

  • Eldritch #29 8 months ago

    Did anybody notice that Larry Holland looks like David Cronenberg and Jack Straw?
    Edited by Eldritch at 15/09/11 @ 16:07

  • ubergine #30 8 months ago

    Soon we'll be in the seventh year of this console generation and to my knowledge, no one has made a space-based shooter. I would have at least thought a port of Rogue Squadron 2 would have been a no brainer for Wii, but a new one - or game of that type - for 360/PS3, well, where the fuck is it?

  • StooMonster #31 8 months ago

    LucasArts is hiring staff

    Didn't LucasArts just lay off loads of staff? (OK, Google tells me it was last September.)

  • peppergomez #32 8 months ago

    Cockpit view please, and make a decent cockpit for the love of god.

  • Sikosh #33 8 months ago

    Tie Fighter pls k thx bai

  • metalangel #34 8 months ago

    @DozyKipper: What's wrong with EVE? Feel just like a real space adventurer as you balance your books while you autopilot to Rigel VII where you'll get a 2.6% premium for those Antarean Rat livers.

    @ubergine: Project Sylpheed wasn't for everyone, but if it clicked, you loved it. There was also a Privateer-alike but I can't remember the name (started with D I think)
    Edited by metalangel at 15/09/11 @ 17:10

  • thesonglessbird #35 8 months ago

    I'd like something along the lines of Elite. In the OT Star Wars universe. PT Universe games are always a bit kiddified in terms of how they look. It would be really awesome to be able to go to any star system and trade, do a spot of bounty hunting etc. etc.

  • MMMMMM7 #36 8 months ago

    Where are those days when Lucas Arts would announce a new game and the
    earth would tremble from the eco of rejoice of gamers. Where are those day
    when the name of Lucas Arts was synonymous to quality and ground breaking.

    Be it X-Wing and Tie Fighter, be it KOTOR, be it The Force Unlesahed 3, or be
    it Dark Forces 2 or anything else they have in mind, let it be a quality game that
    respects gamers and especially respects the STAR WARS universe that is best
    represented with the original trilogy films that create whenever I watch them
    feellings of awe.
    Edited by MMMMMM7 at 15/09/11 @ 17:40

  • RodHull #37 8 months ago

    @bad09

    I used to play XWA with an 8 button flight stick without using the keyboard so controlling the game with a two sticked 8 buttoned controller with a d-pad shouldn't be unpossible.

  • sabbede #38 8 months ago

    @DozyKipper
    What about the X series? X3 Terran Conflict is awesome, and the new installment of the series is coming out in November.

  • bad09 #39 8 months ago

    @RodHull

    Really? I guess you didn't use a lot of the commands. If you found it playable on just 8 then I guess if you cut out some commands it would be possible then but then that would take away from the "flight sim" feel of X-wing. I was just talking about this on the forums surely it would be more Colony wars than X-wing like that?

    EDIT - we found a list of controls

    [link url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=13028&tab=controls
    ]http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=13028...[/link]

    No way a pad could do all that without streamling the game.
    Edited by bad09 at 15/09/11 @ 18:05

  • Penguinzoot #40 8 months ago

    How on Earth would you get them on XBLA and PSN? There are just too many controls you would get a limited version of the game controlwise. Flight, power, communications there are just too many buttons for a joypad alone.

    Which does make me wonder, if it is a new X-wing/TIE Fighter will it be PC exclusive still or will it go multiplatform which as munki83 says will greatly limit the game. Hmm...

    Nah, Just make a new controller, Steel Batallion style, for PC and consoles. I'd be up for it! Anyone else? :)

    /dreams ;)
    Edited by Penguinzoot at 15/09/11 @ 18:20

  • Penguinzoot #41 8 months ago

    Come to think of it, Xwing, Tie Fighter, XWing VS Tie Fighter, and all the expansions, all remade in HD, all in one pack, with a new specialized controller ..... gaming heaven!

    /dreams again ;)

  • bad09 #42 8 months ago

    @Penguinzoot

    A custom controller in the shape of and X-Wing cockpit? I'd be well up for that (as long as it came with a rebel flight suit!) but my god could you imagine the cost!!

  • Penguinzoot #43 8 months ago

    A custom controller in the shape of and X-Wing cockpit? I'd be well up for that (as long as it came with a rebel flight suit!) but my god could you imagine the cost!!

    Yeah, I know. It'd be worth it though! :). Gah! Who am I kidding? It ain't gonna happen :'(
    Edited by Penguinzoot at 15/09/11 @ 19:07

  • MeBrains #44 8 months ago

    xvt would be nice. as would an elite like thing. privateer - why not. Freelancer. OK. Independence War even better!

    but since there is not a single space game out there, I would also already be happy with a G-Police alike or a Colony Wars thing.

    like I said before...

  • MrVengeance #45 8 months ago

    A new Rogue Squadron would be fantastic, without the crappy on-foot sections....

  • Ahskay #46 8 months ago

    X-wing vs Tie-fighter please

  • DarthMartious #47 8 months ago

    I foresee a trilogy:

    Millennium Falcon:Road Trip. Han and Chewie tour the galaxy. With hilarious consequences.

    Millennium Falcon: Caught Short. Han and Chewie ponder the wisdom of replacing the Falcon's toilet facilities with turret guns. With hilarious consequences.

    Millennium Falcon: Groovin' On. Han and Chewie convert the Falcon into a 70's mobile Roller Disco. With hilarious consequences.

    Which will later be spoiled for everyone when they do a prequel trilogy.

  • Stuz359 #48 8 months ago

    Just to point out a Wii-U could do the game non gimped with touchscreen controls. That's my hope anyway.

  • RevanNL #49 8 months ago

    I'm gonna take a rough stab at it and state that this is probably a new Star Wars game. Every time you shoot a TIE fighter you'll hear the pilot scream Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

  • sourc0r #50 8 months ago

    Lucas Arts never fail to disappoint me these days, i'm sure they will remain faithful to their principles

  • Tonne #51 8 months ago

    that's good news, i've been waiting for an space fighter game

  • Cobalt_Jackal #52 8 months ago

    Star Wars Battlefront 3.