Lucasfilms Games and Zero36 Studio announce an upcoming Star Wars digital collectible card game

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a mobile game called Star Wars: The Force Collection. It was quite a fun way to pass the time, allowing you to collect your favourite Sith or Jedi and do battle with them. Unfortunately, it got shuttered six years after release, in what was quite a sad move.

The reason why it shut is unclear, but there has been speculation. Konami got bored and looked elsewhere; the power creep got too much, Disney pumped up the prices and the Star Wars license, to name a few theories. All I know is I miss it. And yet, a glimmer of hope appears.

Zero36 Studio and CCG Lab are teaming up with Lucasfilm Games to create a new digital collectible card game, and the world holds its breath. Or, at least, I do. Because there are two main hurdles this fledgling game has, and they are big ones.

To begin with, Zero36 Studio is owned by none other than ByteDance. That alarm bell ringing in your head is there for a good reason. They are the company that owns TikTok, and they perpetually face threats of being banned in countries, and they are always accused of some spying thing or another.

Now, I don’t use or care about TikTok, but I do like games. And this ByteDance pushback leak over into one of the biggest card games there is: Marvel Snap. At the beginning of the year, Marvel Snap was taken off the market for about a week in America because then-publisher Nuverse was owned by ByteDance. 

After that got resolved, Marvel Snap promptly moved over to Second Dinner, and this gives us our two problems. First, this could happen with the Star Wars game. I don’t think it is controversial to say the American President is a bit erratic. Second, that whole debacle leaves ByteDance with a Marvel Snap-shaped hole in its account, which it might be trying to plug.

This is the bigger issue; I don’t want this to be Star Wars Snap. We are already getting a rip-off in the form of Clans of London; we don’t need another. On that same track, I don’t want aspects of Balatro, Inscryption, or Monster Train. You know what I want? Star Wars Force Collection.

It was a great game that just lost its way somewhere, and I think it would be perfect to revive. Stay away from turn-based battles; Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes has that covered. Just bring back Force Collection, with its formations of about 20 cards, its skills, and its game modes. There was one where you explored a little dungeon-eske thing with a card avatar, and I loved it.

At the very least, for the love of all that is holy, ByteDance, don’t just rip off Marvel Snap. I really fear that is what this will turn into, and I hope it does. Just go back to Force Collection, or make up your own mechanics and give us something new. There are already mimics; we don’t need another Clone Wars.