Unconfirmed: Casual Star Wars MMORPG in Development

Ten Ton Hammer claims to have word from “an inside source” that LucasArts has tapped Sony Online Entertainment to develop a casual Star Wars MMORPG that will most likely use their Free Realms engine.

Ten Ton Hammer has learned from an inside source that Sony Online Entertainment has once again partnered up with LucasArts to do another Star Wars MMO. While we have not yet learned the title of the upcoming game, it sounds like SOE is planning to use the browser-based Free Realms engine to power the game, and the game’s setting will be the Clone Wars. Does this mean Star Wars mini-games within the game, like the holographic chess-like game as seen in A New Hope? Unknown, but it would be cool to hit up a cantina with some buds and sit down for a few mini games.

A casual Star Wars MMO property was probably obvious in hindsight. Look no farther than LEGO Star Wars for proof that a fun, stylized version of Star Wars can sell big, attracted kids and adults alike. Plus, there was an unusually large focus on Star Wars Galaxies at this year’s Fan Faire, and perhaps this was in attempt to rekindle the SOE/LucasArts hype.