Originally conceived as a 2-D strategy game, LucasArts scrapped the overall design after its first public viewing at the 1998 Electronic Gaming Expo. Ronin Entertainment chose to develop an in-house 3-D engine and recreate the game from scratch. As the first Star Wars entry into the then-flooded RTS market, fans eagerly anticipated Force Commander. Upon release, Force Commander was a commercial failure, as well as a disappointment to many fans, who cited the game's graphics and gameplay as its main problems.