Rogue Squadron studio Factor 5 reportedly reborn

The Rogue Squadron games are quintessential to the Star Wars brand, but the series has laid dormant for nearly 14 years. Little chance remained for the series’ revival, especially after Factor 5—the studio behind the Rogue Squadron games—closed its doors a few years back. However, there may be a glimmer of hope for the future of Rogue Squadron thanks to information from Factor 5 co-founder Julian Eggebrecht.

According to Eggebrecht in an interview with German gaming website Spieleveteranen (and translated by users on a NeoGAF thread), Factor 5 has recently became “a legally registered company again” in the past few weeks. The studio has also bought back the rights to their own IPs, such as the Turrican series.

Unfortunately, Factor 5’s rebirth doesn’t confirm a return for Rogue Squadron. Factor 5 only bought back the rights to their original IPs, meaning that EA still controls the license for Star Wars games. As such, EA would have to work out a deal with the studio to collaborate on a Rogue Squadron reboot. Still, attaching Factor 5 to a new Rogue Squadron game could be a solid marketing move.

Screenshot of Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.

Factor 5 previously developed a slew of Star Wars games, beginning with the PlayStation port of Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire in 1996. After that, the studio worked on the first Rogue Squadron game in 1998, Episode I: Battle for Naboo in 2000, Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader in 2001 and Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike in 2003. All three Rogue Squadron games released on Nintendo consoles and were known for pushing the graphical boundaries of both the Nintendo 64 and GameCube.

A Rogue Squadron compilation game called Rogue Leaders was also in development for the Wii, but was eventually cancelled when the US branch of the Factor 5 went bust in 2009 (you can watch a trailer of that cancelled game below). Factor 5’s German arm lasted a bit longer, but it too eventually went under in 2011.

Factor 5 had additional plans to bring the series to the Xbox 360 as a launch title in the form of a multiplayer game titled Rogue Squadron: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Unfortunately, development halted after LucasArts cancelled the project, wary of publishing a launch game for a console.

Back to the recent interview, Eggebrecht noted that “it is their idea to bring back old IPs and games and maybe develop further sequels ‘at some point’.” However, he refused to confirm any future development plans. He also touched on the Nintendo Switch and called the console’s graphical performance somewhere in between the Wii U and Xbox One. He further added that the Switch is easier to develop on than the PlayStation 4.

While I wouldn’t bet on seeing a Factor 5-developed Star Wars game in the near future, I do think this provides hope for a Rogue Squadron reboot. I’ll also add that the studio could be the perfect fit if EA wants to bring a Star Wars game to the Switch. However, we’ll just have to wait and see if such a thing actually ever happens.

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(H/T Nintendo Life)

(Top image source. Second image source.)