Yesterday brought a tease about an Indiana Jones game at Bethesda. Today we have a Star Wars game landing at Ubisoft. It would appear the new LucasFilm Games division is on a bit of a roll.
Announced in an interview with Wired, an untitled, open-world Star Wars project is underway at Ubisoft Massive, creators of The Division. What’s more, CEO Yves Guillemot says the project marks the beginning of a “long-term collaboration” between Ubisoft and Disney.
Details beyond this are scarce. Guillemot indicates that Ubisoft Massive is currently staffing up to tackle development. It will use the Snowdrop engine that powered both Division games. The Division 2‘s Julian Gerighty will direct. Ubisoft has not indicated if Ubisoft Massive’s Star Wars will be single-player or multiplayer. Given the studio’s pedigree for open-world multiplayer, it wouldn’t surprise us to see the project in that direction.
I have altered the deal.
But, you may be asking, what about EA? Electronic Arts have held an exclusive, multi-year license to produce Star Wars games since 2013. It appears LucasFilm Games have informed EA that they have altered the deal. “(EA will) continue to be a very strategic and important partner for us now and going forward,” senior vice president of Global Games and Interactive Experiences Sean Shoptaw told Wired.
The Disney/EA deal led to games like Star Wars Battlefront, Jedi Fallen Order, Star Wars Squadrons and a slew of mobile titles. However, EA has repeatedly gotten itself into trouble with the license — Star Wars Battlefront 2 was condemned at launch for its aggressive integration of microtransactions. Titles like Amy Hennig’s Project Ragtag were cancelled before they ever saw the light of day. It would seem that Disney wants a more stable arrangement and is looking further afield to find it. Wired’s report also indicates that LucasFilm Games is seeking developer pitches for games based on its properties.
We look forward to seeing what else LucasFilm Games has up their sleeves.
