Warning – Spoilers for The Mandalorian, Season 2 are ahead!

Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes had a year that can only be classified as a rollercoaster in 2020, but heck, so did many of us. While the global pandemic changed the way many of us operate day-to-day and has been the key contributor in the up-and-down way of life for millions across the globe, the outlook on the Star Wars franchise as a whole has also changed drastically. We began 2020 coming off of the conclusion of the Skywalker saga, which, in my opinion was at least a satisfying way to wrap things up after Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi debacle. However, after another year of fans stewing over the lack of use of Luke Skywalker in the sequels for anything but bad attempts at comedy and almost zero action (again, thanks a lot Rian Johnson), The Mandalorian brought us all back home, reviving the hope in Star Wars fans that rebellions are built on.

But as Star Wars goes, so goes Galaxy of Heroes, right? I would argue to say yes, given the game’s popularity. In fairness, EA Capital Games has one job – don’t screw this up. And while it seemed they were trying to do just that in mid-2020 when the discussion of the treatment of the SWGoH community and content creators was at an all-time high, the addition of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, the addition of a new Community Manager in CG_Doja_Fett and the resulting immediate improvement in communication from Capital Games, the addition of more characters from The Mandalorian and the recent addition of the Challenge Tier Rancor Raid changed the direction of the year. But the improved view of Star Wars in the eyes of the fans is certainly helping Galaxy of Heroes as well, as the overall mood in the community is far more positive than earlier this year. Let’s take a look at three keys to continued success for SWGoH in 2021.

1. Keep the momentum. I stated earlier something I feel strongly about. “EA Capital Games has one job – don’t screw this up.” While CG_Carrie left EA Capital Games in mid-2019, it was the end of 2018 when the communication with the community began to fall apart, the relationship with the SWGoH Gamechangers went from solid to trash, and without Carrie it felt like the leadership of Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes was struggling. But the final months of 2020 we saw a lot of improvement with the addition of new game modes and challenges (Galactic Challenges, new Rancor Raid) and a huge improvement in communication with the community. Continuing to build on the momentum they have from all of these, plus the rising interest in Star Wars again, is key to SWGoH possibly even growing again.
2. Ride the wave of success attached to The Mandalorian. Let’s be real. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni did more for Star wars fans in 40 minutes to conclude Season 2 of The Mandalorian than Disney had done in the 8 years since they purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas in 2012. And this coming from a guy who loves Rogue One, and really liked the Rebels series as well as The Force Awakens and the Solo movie. It took one episode of The Mandalorian to nearly break the Internet as Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, along with Mando himself have built the Star Wars universe back up. Capital Games would be wise to continue to build on this success as I foresee a Mandalorian faction being added in-game soon…
3. Give us more fan favorites. Bo-Katan, Hondo Ohnaka, Bail Organa, First Order Riot Stormtroopers, Praetorian Guards, Saw Gerrera, Supreme Leader Snoke and more are all names that we would like to see in 2020, based of course on when EA Capital Games is allowed to add Season 2 characters from The Mandalorian. We know that Season 1 favorite The Armorer is joining us in January, but it will be interesting to see if more characters follow her addition or if they change to another era in the Star Wars universe.

All in all, 2020’s strong finish really makes the first half of the year a lot easier to stomach. The middle of the year felt like the game was dying; now I feel like growth is possible once again. Yes, The Mandalorian‘s fantastic success is key to this, but the studio appears to be making better decisions and the communication with this is far, far better. I am hopeful that they can continue to build on this momentum by challenging the player base and adding new characters and game modes that continue to bring enjoyment to the game in 2021.