Star Wars: Tiny Death Star is a mobile gaming experience that was a collaborative effort between Disney Mobile, LucasArts, and NimbleBit. The announcement of its existence was made on the Disney Interactive website on October 4, 2013. Gamers in Australia were the first to get their hands on it, with a release on October 11, 2013 for Android. Following that, it was released on October 15 for iPhone. A global launch followed on November 7, 2013, making it available on the iTunes App Store, Google Apps store, Windows Phone Store, and Windows Store.
The game's availability was cut short; in October of 2014, Disney pulled it from both the Apple and Google digital storefronts. The reasoning given was a shift in focus "to focus on priority titles like Star Wars: Commander." NimbleBit, the game's developer, stated they received no advance notice from Disney regarding this decision.
The Empire requires your assistance! Disney Mobile, in partnership with LucasArts and the creators of Tiny Tower, NimbleBit, presents Star Wars™: Tiny Death Star™, a brand-new mobile game. Embrace the dark side as you team up with Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader to entice Galactic bitizens, manage interstellar businesses, and erect a completely new Death Star. Populate your space station with iconic characters and species by building unique Star Wars-themed environments in this 8-bit-inspired game. Star Wars: Tiny Death Star will soon be accessible worldwide.
This game is an adaptation of Tiny Tower, which was originally developed by NimbleBit.
Players begin with a brief tutorial that guides them through the creation of their initial level. Throughout the gameplay, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader issue instructions. Constructing new levels draws in "bitizens," who then provide the player with credits. These credits are used to invest in buildings and the products sold within businesses, which in turn generate more currency. Players also take on the role of a turbolift operator, ferrying bitizens to the levels they wish to visit. Certain scenes can be unlocked, and there are also specific mini-missions, such as locating Rebel infiltrators.
Prior to the holiday season, on December 12, 2013, an update was released that introduced the ability to decorate the Death Star using new decorator droids. On February 6, 2014, the app received another expansion, dubbed the Imperial update, which brought with it new missions and features.
Reports surfaced in October 2014 indicating that Disney had delisted the game from both its App Stores and Google Play. Despite this, it remains possible to install the game on Android devices and certain Chromebooks by using its APK file.
The official Star Wars YouTube channel uploaded a promotional trailer for the game on November 8, 2013.