Ten years ago, in a remote studio, Capital Games decided to start an adventure, bringing one of the most beloved franchises in the world to the tiny screen. Of course I’m talking about Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. This mobile game is now ten years elderly and remains popular and boasts a forceful community; it’s something to celebrate. It is known that not every mobile game reaches such a milestone.
That’s why we took the opportunity to talk to Caley Roberts, lead producer at Capital Games. We discuss what you, players, can expect as we celebrate our tenth anniversary, how the game stays relevant, and the importance of community in maintaining the success of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Spoiler alert: you are extremely essential.
So what are you waiting for? Grab some blue milk, pull up a chair and join us to talk to the team behind one of the best Star Wars games.
Pocket Tactics: First of all, congratulations on your 10th anniversary. Can you tell us a little about what players can expect during the festivities?
Caley Roberts: Thank you! We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved so far, and our 10-year update has a lot to be excited about.
First up, we’re introducing Colosseum, an all-new game mode that features a daily rotating roster of bosses, including the AT-ST Pirate and Jotaz, just to name a few. We’re also releasing modern versions of some of the most iconic and nostalgic Star Wars™ characters – from Stormtrooper Luke, Vader with a broken mask, and the Chewie/Yoda combo. Additionally, we are changing our seasonality to make the game more accessible and create equal opportunities for all players.
The mobile gaming industry has changed a lot over the last ten years. How do you think Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes has managed to stay relevant and successful?
The key to the game’s longevity is our world-class team’s passion for the franchise. We’re all Star Wars fans and each update allows us to celebrate the brand with the content we bring to the game. Additionally, listening to our community and implementing their feedback every step of the way ensures we’re giving players a game and content they’ll love. We also have a great partnership with Lucasfilm Games, which allows us to add the best version of content to the game, ensuring a more immersive gameplay.
Looking back on the last ten years of development, what was the most challenging behind-the-scenes chapter and why?
I think every chapter that resulted in a huge change in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes was hard in some way, and one of those comes around every three years or so. The final challenge was to build a modern seasonality system that focuses on the wealthy experience of the Era every three months, allowing both newcomers and veterans to re-enter the game on a level playing field and embark on a modern adventure in the Star Wars universe.
Considering that Galaxy of Heroes has been around for ten years, has it been more hard to make the game both amiable to modern players and fresh enough for those who have stuck with it since the beginning?
We strive to keep current players entertained while inviting modern ones, and that’s why we’ve focused on building the modern Era system: balancing the welcome experience for modern players and our committed Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes fans.
Of all the modern Star Wars media that has emerged since the launch of Galaxy of Heroes, which film, series, or other media have you found most inspiring when creating modern content for the game?
Individual members of the team are fans of various films, series and games from the wealthy, almost 50-year history of the Star Wars series. As for me, I still remember watching the original trilogy for the first time with my family back in the 1980s. However, for some younger Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes players or team members, Episode I-III or The Mandalorian are the most essential.
Will there be a Mandalorian and Grogu movie and the Maul: Lord of Shadows series next year? Is there any content in the works for the game that you can share with us?
As a huge Star Wars fan, I’m personally excited about these releases. Of course, we love incorporating modern Star Wars content into our game, but we don’t have anything to share at this time.
Considering the game’s Reddit page receives over 90,000 weekly visitors, how essential a role do you think the community has played in the continued success of Galaxy of Heroes?
The community is 100% one of our three guiding pillars, and their passion, feedback and mutual support are huge factors in ensuring the game’s continued success. We’re grateful for their support on this journey – from collaborating in-game to experience modern adventures to creating guides and helpful content to facilitate modern players navigate the wealthy Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes experience.
Are there any Star Wars characters or settings you’ve always wanted to work on but never found the space for?
We want to discover more amazing Jedi lore from our friends at Respawn. We held our first Jedi-inspired event in early March this year around Cal Kestis, but we definitely want to explore more of this wealthy universe.
Can you personally tell us about your passion for Star Wars and what it means to you to work on a game that explores the universe in such depth?
Well, I missed the original release of Star Wars: A New Hope by a year; I was busy giving birth. When The Empire Strikes Back came out, I waited in my dad’s arms in a three-hour line to see it. The entire story enchanted me – the ships, characters and setting all spoke to me. I’ve always been fascinated by this series, especially the spaceships! When I got the opportunity to join Capital Games and work on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, it was like a dream come true.
Finally, if you could look to the future, where would you like to see Galaxy of Heroes in the next decade?
We’ll welcome a third generation of Star Wars fans as the series reaches its 60th anniversary, offering an incredibly immersive Holotables experience that allows players to journey through 60 years of incredible Star Wars stories, spanning over 1,000 worlds, ships and characters featured in our game.
As Star Wars fans, we can’t wait to be part of the celebration, and it’s great to learn how Capital Games draws inspiration from its game content. We cannot thank Caley enough for her time. May the force be with you.
