Credit: EA Star Wars / LucasfilmA new development over at Electronic Arts will affect several Star Wars projects in a big way.
Over the past several years, Disney and Electronic Arts (EA) have had an exclusive deal for video games. EA gets to license games with Star Wars, unlike any other publisher. Star Wars games sell like candy, but the problem EA faced was figuring out how to license these games. Unlike other licensing, Lucasfilm is very involved in every project related to the galaxy far far away, and that can lead to a whole slew of issues.
In 11 years, EA only managed to make four Star Wars games, but more are on the way. “Jedi: Survivor” will receive another sequel, a “Knights of the Old Republic” remake is in development, with a potential “Star Wars: Battlefront III” in the works.
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Lucasfilm Games has taken over and handed out the licensing to other developers, allowing fans to have more games in the works, but there’s a catch. There’s no guarantee that most games will be released due to the recent issues with video game development. The KOTOR remake was delayed indefinitely after some of the project’s top directors were fired. Other games like “Star Wars: Eclipse” has dozens of vacant positions, leaving the game to release years later, not anytime soon.
Fans have gotten used to Lucasfilm not releasing many video games any longer, but that doesn’t mean players don’t wish a new game was waiting for them. Star Wars is one of those franchises where video games can explore almost whatever they want and players will buy it.
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According to IGN, EA, on the other hand, won’t be making fans happy anytime soon with a new corporate restructuring. EA is splitting its studios into two main groups—sports and everything else. One person will oversee each group and ensure each project handles everything they need to do.
This will reportedly help the publisher focus more on the projects that matter and make more profit. It’s tough to believe this won’t affect certain projects, since the studio’s restructuring could lead to a new wave of layoffs and focus more on their sports games, titles like “Madden” and “FIFA,” which are known to be making millions for the publisher.
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Star Wars might not get the best treatment from this change, but EA promises that this change could help the company, so here’s hoping the company might be right. Ubisoft will lead the way next year with a brand new open-world adventure, “Star Wars: Outlaws,” but the project doesn’t have a confirmed release date, leaving the door open for several delays.
Do you think EA’s upcoming Star Wars projects will do well? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!