Today, Lucasfilm’s virtual reality studio ILMxLAB announced that they are currently in development on a new virtual reality experience, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, in collaboration with Oculus Studios.

“We are so excited for fans to step into Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge later this year,” said Vicki Dobbs Beck, ILMxLAB Executive-in-Charge. “This action-packed adventure not only speaks to the promise of connected and complementary experiences by extending the lore around Black Spire Outpost, it represents another meaningful step in ILMxLAB’s quest to transition  from storytelling – one-way communication – to storyLIVING, where you’re inside a world making consequential choices that drive your experience forward.”

“…by extending the lore around Black Spire Outpost, it represents another meaningful step in ILMxLAB’s quest to transition from storytelling – one-way communication – to storyLIVING…”

Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge will give players the opportunity to live their own adventure and explore part of a galaxy far, far away in virtual reality. The original story will feature both new and iconic characters from the Star Wars universe with multiple styles of gameplay and difficulty settings to accommodate a wide variety of players, from Star Wars fans to VR gamers alike.

“The rich storytelling in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has redefined what a Disney park experience can be, and we are thrilled fans will have an opportunity to discover new stories, meet new characters and explore new regions of the planet Batuu in Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge,” shared Scott Trowbridge, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Executive. “Now our guests can immerse themselves in these stories both inside and outside our parks.” 

Taking place between Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on the planet of Batuu, it is set on the outskirts of Black Spire Outpost of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the epic new land at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

“…fans will have an opportunity to discover new stories, meet new characters and explore new regions of the planet Batuu in Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge…” 

Six months ago we’d have said that this was a risky move, since VR gaming is still struggling to find its footing. With the wave of new third-generation VR headsets, though, that tide may be coming in after all. Currently the most popular PC game of any kind is Halflife: Alyx, which is only playable in VR.

There is no word yet on a release date, or pricing, or whether there will be hardware lock-in on the Occulus series of VR headsets, but we presume that they would be leaving money on the table if they made the new game such that HTC Vive or other users could not make the game run on their systems.

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