Star Wars Jedi: Survivor—Everything we know

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor arrives next month, we've got more info than you could pack on a Bantha, or whatever Star Wars reference you might prefer. Confirming all our expectations in May 2022, EA revealed the Fallen Order sequel at the Star Wars Celebration event in May 2022. And it's got, like, a lot of lightsabers. Guy's got a bunch of 'em.

As we approach the Jedi: Survivor release, we're starting to get details about the adventures Cal Kestis will undertake in the sequel, with new planets to explore, new lightsaber styles to wield, and new lizards to ride around on. Here's your personal databank for everything we know about Cal Kestis's next chapter.

What is the Jedi: Survivor release date? 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will release on April 28, 2023. As with Fallen Order, Survivor will release simultaneously on PC and consoles.

Jedi: Survivor was originally planned for a March release date but in January EA announced the delay to April, saying "In order for the team to hit the Respawn quality bar, provide the team the time they need, and achieve the level of polish our fans deserve, we have added six crucial weeks to our release schedule."

Here's the latest Jedi: Survivor gameplay footage

In this 9-minute gameplay video from IGN, we find a crash-landed Cal Kestis on Koboh, one of the sequel's early planets. While Cal scrounges for parts to repair his ship, we get a look at Jedi: Survivor's platforming exploration, and a hefty sampling of Cal's new combat options.

Cal has essentially evolved into a Swiss army knife of lightsabers, switching on the fly between dual sabers, single saber, and double-bladed saber stances, weaving in force pushes and throws to disrupt enemy attacks. In one fight, he goes full Darth Maul mode, turning a room into a blender for droids. There's one of those Brad-Pitt-as-Achilles-in-Troy jumping stabs, too. Good stuff.

And while we don't see Cal collecting any ponchos, he does find a jacket in a chest. As we all know, nobody can Jedi: Survive without a healthy wardrobe.

What other Jedi: Survivor trailers are there?

This Game Awards 2022 trailer (opens in new tab) gives us our first looks at Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gameplay. Clearly shooting for the "dark middle chapter" vibe, we're given plenty of quick shots of protagonist Cal Kestis employing some new additions to his Soulslike lightsaber combat—like dual sabers and a Kylo Ren-esque great saber—while generally being a menace to stormtroopers. Oh, and at one point he's hang-gliding from a pterodactyl.

The first teaser trailer for Jedi: Survivor (opens in new tab) didn't give too much away, but Cal and BD were certainly still prominent. A Pau'an character, possibly chief Jedi-hunter The Grand Inquisitor, shows up to deliver a threatening voice over: "Tell me, Cal Kestis. Why lead when they won't follow? Why fight when you can't win?" Beyond that, we get a quick shot of his ship the Mantis crashed on a desert planet, Cal crossing sabers with a hooded Sith, and a mysterious figure in an abandoned bacta tank.

What's new in Jedi: Survivor gameplay?

First and foremost, Cal Kestis will be getting some additions to his suite of Jedi combat styles. In an interview with Game Informer (opens in new tab), game director Stig Asmussen said that Survivor will feature five "fully realized" fighting stances for Cal. Among these is a dual-wielding stance with two lightsabers, as well as a slower, heavy stance with a Kylo Ren-style crossguard lightsaber.

It sounds like Cal will also be adopting some scum and villainy flavor with one of his new stances, as Asmussen described one combat style where Cal wields a blaster alongside his saber. "It really speaks to where we find Cal in this part of the story,” Asmussen said. It might be uncivilized, but shooting a guy is a useful survival skill when you're being hunted by an evil empire.

Additionally, Cal will have some new platforming and traversal options for exploring the game's new locales. A grappling hook-like ascension cable will let him climb cliffs and zip across gaps. And by taming wildlife, Cal can befriend alien creatures as mounts, allowing him to ride lizards and hang-glide from space pterodactyls.

What do we know about the Jedi: Survivor story?

EA's told us the sequel takes place five years after the first Star Wars Jedi game, placing it right in the middle between the prequels and the original trilogy at around 9 years before the Battle of Yavin. That also means it's happening at roughly the same point on the timeline as the recent Obi-Wan show. "Cal must stay one step ahead of the Empire’s constant pursuit as he begins to feel the weight of being one of the last remaining Jedi in the galaxy," EA says. "Accompanied by his trusty companion BD-1, Cal will meet and ally himself with an array of unique and interesting characters on his journey."

If you're wondering what happened to Cal and his Mantis crew in the years between Fallen Order and Survivor, good news: there's a book for that. An interim novel, Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars, covers the gap between the first and second games, hopefully giving some indication of why Cal seems to be on his own by the time of Survivor.

In Survivor, we can safely expect plenty of new and returning faces as Cal outruns his Imperial hunters. Fellow Jedi Cere Junda will make another appearance. Among Cal's new friends is one Bode Akuna, a mercenary and AI companion who'll help Cal out in combat. “He and Cal form a special bond,” game director Stig Asmussen saids. “It’s almost like they’re brothers."

As you'd expect Cal will be facing plenty of unfriendly figures. We'll likely see more of his freshly-established personal beef with Darth Vader, which capped off the last game by leaving Cal with a new lightsaber wound. The trailers above show some currently-unnamed potential rivals, like a burly, bounty hunter-y alien and a mysterious brooding figure who Cal releases from a bacta tank.