The Force will be Unleashed on September 17

LucasArts Announces Release Date for Breakthrough New Star Wars® Game

LucasArts today announced that its highly anticipated videogame Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be released on September 16, 2008 in the United States, September 17 in Southeast Asia and Australia, and September 19 in Europe.

An entirely new chapter in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice” and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy.  The game’s expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.  In it, players will assist Vader in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi – and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of the most ambitious projects LucasArts has ever launched. The combination of a great new Star Wars story with revolutionary new technology and game play means more fun than you’ve ever had in the Star Wars universe,” said Peter Hirschmann, Vice-President of Product Development, LucasArts.  “We can’t wait until gamers get their hands on it this September.”

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the first next-generation game developed internally at LucasArts, and will be available on the Xbox®360 video game and other next-gen systems.

As its name implies, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time together: Digital Molecular Matter, by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd.

Working with Lucas Licensing, LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey, Prima Games, and Palace Press.

More information about the game can be found at the official website, www.theforceunleashed.com, which will continue to release details throughout the year.