Star Wars: Hunters Is A Free-To-Play Competitive Shooter Coming To Nintendo Switch

There's a new Star Wars game coming to Nintendo Switch in 2021. Star Wars: Hunters will bring some competitive online play to the console from a galaxy far, far away, Nintendo revealed during today's Nintendo Direct broadcast.

The teaser for Star Wars: Hunters didn't provide too much in the way of details, but publisher Zynga filled in some gaps with a press release after the Nintendo Direct concluded. Star Wars: Hunters is a third-person arena shooter that will be free-to-play and online. You'll join a squad in competitive battles in various Star Wars locales, with the game taking place after the fall of the Empire, between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. If you'll recall, that's a span that covers about 35 years, so it could entail just about anything.

The short trailer swept through the familiar locale of Jabba's palace and showed holograms of what look like different potential fighter characters with different weapons. The suggestion is that you'll mix melee weapons with gunplay, with the opportunity to wield heavy blasters, dual pistols, clubs, and lightsabers. The characters in the holograms included a Wookiee, a stormtrooper, and a guy who looked to be sporting something like Mandalorian armor. According to the press release, the cast includes "unique and idiosyncratic new characters, including daring bounty hunters, heroes of the Rebellion, and Imperial stormtroopers."

We don't have a firm release date on Star Wars Hunters, but Nintendo did say it'd be available sometime later this year. According to Zynga's press release, the game will also release for mobile devices.