It’s over! The dark times have ended for Star Wars video game fans. As of today, January 13th 2021, EA’s exclusive license on the Star Wars franchise has ended. The decision to move away from EA exclusivity 2 years before the deal should have ended and open up the license to all developers was announced by Lucasfilm Games VP Douglas Reilly on StarWars.com.
“We’re looking to work with best-in-class teams that can make great games across all of our IP. We’ve got a team of professionals here at Lucasfilm Games who can work with the developers, shape the stories, shape the creative, shape the games, to make them really resonate with fans and deliver across a breadth of platforms, genres, and experiences so that all of our fans can enjoy the IPs that they know and love.”
https://www.starwars.com/news/lucasfilm-games-interview
The first foray into this larger world will be a collaboration with Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment, the developers of The Division 2, on an open world, story driven Star Wars game.
Here are some quotes from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and Massive Entertainment’s Julian Gerighty on the new Star Wars project.
“The vast Star Wars lore is an incredible source of inspiration for our teams. This is the beginning of a long-term collaboration with Disney and Lucasfilm Games, and we are pleased to be working hand-in-hand to build upon the incredible legacy of Lucasfilm to create a game that we know Star Wars fans will love.” – Yves Guillemot, CEO Ubisoft
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-open-world-star-wars-game-coming-from-ubisofts-the-division-2-dev/1100-6486220/?ftag=ftag%3DGSS-05-10aab8e&UniqueID=01DCF14E-55BD-11EB-B7FA-236396E8478F&TheTime=2021-01-13T16%3A33%3A03&PostType=image&ServiceType=twitter
“This is a lore that we love, and we want to do it justice with a game and story that bring both lifelong and new fans on an immersive and outstanding journey that will stay with them for years.” – Julian Gerighty, Creative Director Massive Entertainment
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-open-world-star-wars-game-coming-from-ubisofts-the-division-2-dev/1100-6486220/?ftag=ftag%3DGSS-05-10aab8e&UniqueID=01DCF14E-55BD-11EB-B7FA-236396E8478F&TheTime=2021-01-13T16%3A33%3A03&PostType=image&ServiceType=twitter
While the EA exclusivity deal has ended, they will still work with Lucasfilm games to continue to build the franchises they established and potentially work on some new titles.
“We’re really proud of the games we have created with EA,” Reilly says. “We will continue working with them and our relationship has never been stronger. While we may not have a lot of details to share at the moment, we’ve got a number of projects underway with the talented teams at EA.”
https://www.starwars.com/news/lucasfilm-games-interview
For those of you who are listeners of the Star Wars Time Show, I just have to say that this is further proof that the Force is speaking directly through Matt and I while we are on the show. I called this exact move just 1 day before the official announcement. +1 for the SWTS crew!
