Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was a game that was initially released in 2019, then got several console ports in 2021. The storyline focused on a surviving Padawan’s story five years after the events of the film Revenge of the Sith, specifically a young man named Cal Kestis. Though the story itself appears original and is set in the Star Wars universe, doubts have been floating around for a while about whether or not this story is canon to the world and lore of the Star Wars universe. Thankfully, due to the availability of this game’s development history, we have a concrete answer. Spoilers for the game follow in this explanation, so bear that in mind.
Originally, the game was not even meant to be a Star Wars story. In 2017, EA secured indefinite rights to creatively develop video games under the Star Wars umbrella. Incidentally, EA had just acquired Respawn, the studio founded by the Call of Duty franchise creators. Respawn was developing a third-person melee action game at the time, but when EA offered the studio a chance to create a canon story within the Star Wars universe, they took to it with gusto. Several events within the story of Fallen Order verify that the game is canon to the greater universe, including a segment in the game in which players live through part of the infamous Order 66 purge. Much of the game also revolves around bringing down a series of Inquisitors, which are known spies of the Empire. These two details already place Fallen Order within the canon universe of Star Wars while also introducing plenty of new characters, including Jedi Master Cere Junda, who had also gone into hiding alongside Cal following the execution of Order 66.
Though it originally was not destined to be a Star Wars game, Jedi: Fallen Order walked the way of the Force and has been confirmed by the developers and several story events as being canon to the main storyline of Star Wars. The original story it presents serves as a good midway point between many of the confrontations and battles prior to A New Hope.
(image: EA)
