Ever since 2013, EA had retained exclusive publishing rights for the Star Wars license in games. After the shuttering of LucasArts, a result of the Disney-Lucasfilm acquisition, EA had signed a deal with Disney to be the sole producer of Star Wars games. In retrospect, this deal ended up being contentious because of the controversial releases under the EA-Star Wars saga. And yet, even in the wake of controversial games like Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefront 2, EA also produced excellent titles like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: Squadrons. Now, with the reforming of Lucasfilm Games, EA is no longer the sole provider of Star Wars games.
That’s not to say EA has been blacklisted from Star Wars, in fact it’s the exact opposite. There are still several EA Star Wars games still in development, but the reforming of Lucasfilm Games means the Star Wars brand will expand beyond EA’s development studios for games. Already, Ubisoft Massive has announced a new open world Star Wars game in development, showing that the Lucasfilm Games brand intends to diversify the franchise’s gaming lineup for the future. Reforming Lucasfilm Games as a brand opens up the potential for a ton of different opportunities for Star Wars games, whether it’s diving back into LucasArts IPs, or completely new projects.
Even from an objective perspective, bringing back Lucasfilm Games as a licensed brand is only going to be good for Star Wars games. Regardless of what fans think of the EA-published Star Wars games, giving more development studios and creatives the potential to make other Star Wars games adds more gameplay diversity. That much is already evidenced by the new “story-driven” open world game coming from Ubisoft, a publisher well-versed in successful open world games at this point. Being developed by the team behind The Division, Ubisoft’s efforts in the Star Wars universe are just one example of how the Star Wars brand in games will expand outside of just EA.
A breath of fresh air is exactly what the Star Wars franchise needs in games, especially after being exclusive to EA for so long. With the rollercoaster of releases of EA, even if recent games from the publisher’s exclusivity contract have been much better, allowing more studios to work on Star Wars is better for both parties. Not only will other studios be able to provide unique takes on Star Wars, but the pressure will be on even harder for EA’s Star Wars games to distinguish themselves. Both Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: Squadrons saw great praise, at least compared to Battlefront 2, but the competition among other publishers may apply more pressure on EA.
Aside from a variety of new experiences that will come from the Lucasfilm Games brand, the revival also means some old friends could return as well. Bringing back Lucasfilm Games could also potentially revive any of the former LucasArts IPs that were released almost a decade ago. The LucasArts umbrella of published games holds a treasure trove of classic Star Wars games in all forms, whether they were adventures of the Jedi, bounty hunters across the galaxy, and everything in between. Knights of the Old Republic, The Force Unleashed, Jedi Outcast, Republic Commando, and various other IPs from the Star Wars video game universe could come back.
Whether it’s official sequels, spin-offs, or spiritual sequels, there’s a ton of LucasArts Star Wars IPs that have been long-dormant since the company was shuttered. Imagine a scenario where Naughty Dog developed a new Jedi Knight entry, or if Valve developed a new Republic Commando co-op shooter. The LucasArts IPs in the Star Wars universe are plentiful, some of which are still just as timeless today as they were when they released. Seeing different interpretations or perspectives from some of the biggest/most notable game development studios is also a big component of the reforming of Lucasfilm Games.
The potential variety of games that could potentially stem from this new brand reformation will undoubtedly spawn plenty of theory crafting. Undoubtedly, fans on Reddit and opinion pieces from media/internet personalities will posit which developers should design which types of games. There’s existing LucasArts IPs lost to time that could certainly be revived, along with many of the cancelled Star Wars games from EA that could maybe see new life from other studios. While it will likely be a while before any potential new IPs or games come to light from Lucasfilm Games’ return, the future is certainly bright for Star Wars.
Overall, the biggest takeaway for Star Wars and Lucasfilm Games specifically is the greater variety of games that will inevitably come in the future. EA’s bread-and-butter for game development, at least in recent history, has been live-service experiences. It’s why some of the first games to come out of the EA-Disney exclusivity deal were the Battlefront games, especially with EA’s legacy in publishing the Battlefield games. EA took a chance with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: Squadrons, though arguably it was too late for EA before its Star Wars exclusivity deal lapsed. Now, other studios and publishers will reinvent new stories in the Star Wars universe.
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