During a recent Nintendo Direct, Zynga has revealed that it's working on a free-to-play Star Wars game for the Nintendo Switch as well as mobile platforms like Android and iOS. The game is called Star Wars: Hunters, and it's coming to mobile this year. It's described as a competitive arena combat game that should offer real-time cross-play squad battles, though Zynga hasn't actually shown off any gameplay despite releasing a teaser trailer. Still, it seems clear Zynga is creating a Fortnite clone with a Star Wars skin, which is difficult to get excited about.

Above, you can view the recently-released teaser trailer for Star Wars: Hunters. While you are provided a few quick glimpses of the game's characters, that's all that's shown off. So in true mobile gaming fashion, it would appear that Zynga doesn't want anyone to see what this game looks like in action, a common tactic mobile developers consistently abuse. Seeing that the game will land sometime this year, I find it hard to believe this trailer is all there is to show.

So outside of the fact that Zynga is chasing trends by focusing the content of its upcoming Star Wars game around squad-based arena combat, there isn't much information available yet. While Zynga has created a dedicated website, there isn't much info available there either. However, there's an email sign-up on the page for those that wish to receive exclusive updates about the game, but more or less, the above trailer is all we have to go on until the studio reveals more about this title. What we do know is that Star Wars: Hunters will be Zynga's first console release, so perhaps there's a sliver of hope the game won't wind up as a lazy free-to-play cash grab. While I wouldn't hold my breath for such an outcome, anything's possible.

UPDATE: 2021/09/15 7:24am PDT BY MATTHEW SHOLTZ

Zynga's Star Wars: Hunters is coming to Android in 2022, and there's a new trailer

Back in February, Zynga revealed that it was working on a Star Wars game for mobile and consoles called Star Wars: Hunters. At the time, the only media available was a teaser trailer. As expected, Zynga is back with a new announcement and very little to show. Sure, there's a new trailer, but it's cinematic, so we still have no idea what the game actually looks like in action. Of course, it's still a work in progress, and thanks to today's trailer, we now know the game is slated for release in 2022, not that an exact date has been provided. So yes, today's announcement is for hype purposes, not for informing the fans, though there are a few fresh tidbits available on the official website.

We now know that Star Wars: Hunters is a 4x4 arena combat game, and the trailer shows these arenas are televised sporting events in the in-game universe. Who knew those that live in the Star Wars universe were into reality TV? It's clear Zynga wrote this ridiculous premise to suit the design of the arena gameplay, and so if you're hoping for a good story, I wouldn't hold my breath. Like all Fortnight clones, battles will take place in real-time, though the size of the maps remains to be seen.

So there you have it. Zynga is eager to keep people hyped for Star Wars: Hunters, and so the company has released a new trailer and press release, all to show off a cinematic that does very little to reveal anything about the game. Perchance there is a reason Zynga doesn't want its fans to see actual gameplay, and I bet it has everything to do with how this game will be monetized. While I'd love to see Zynga release a quality game, I think we all know before seeing a single video of this title in action that it will end up another branded cash grab. After all, when's the last time Zynga released a good game?