Monday, February 19th 2018
Lucasfilm Rumored to Ditch EA for a New Game Publisher
Rumors are going around that Lucasfilm isn't too happy with how the Star Wars franchise is turning out since they handed the license on a silver platter over to Electronic Arts in 2013. Up to now, EA has produced a total of two titles under the Star Wars: Battlefront sub-series. Their first Star Wars: Battlefront game was released in 2015 and many considered it a reboot of the previous games. Regardless, Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) was highly criticized for its lack of a single-player campaign. EA's solution to keep die-hard Star Wars fans happy was to release a multitude of free expansions and paid DLC packs to add more content to the game. And then came Star Wars: Battlefront II in 2017, a sequel that received even harsher backlash because of the over aggressive loot-crate system that was implemented into the game. In an attempt to put out the fire, EA temporarily eliminated the microtransactions.
Then, to make matters even worse, EA closed Visceral Games last year. The studio was working on the single-player driven Star Wars: Project Ragtag title, but apparently it didn't fit into EA's business model so they decided to pull the plug. With all that has occurred, EA's relationship with Lucasfilm hangs on a thin thread right now. The gaming giant's lackluster record of releasing two games in a five year period allegedly forced Lucasfilm to explore other options. Ubisoft and Activision were the two big names that have been mentioned so far. If the rumors were true, who would you rather have working on the next Star Wars game?
Source:
Cinelinx
Then, to make matters even worse, EA closed Visceral Games last year. The studio was working on the single-player driven Star Wars: Project Ragtag title, but apparently it didn't fit into EA's business model so they decided to pull the plug. With all that has occurred, EA's relationship with Lucasfilm hangs on a thin thread right now. The gaming giant's lackluster record of releasing two games in a five year period allegedly forced Lucasfilm to explore other options. Ubisoft and Activision were the two big names that have been mentioned so far. If the rumors were true, who would you rather have working on the next Star Wars game?
75 Comments on Lucasfilm Rumored to Ditch EA for a New Game Publisher
Doubt it though.
They should pick a dev that's made a remarkable game in the last few years, maybe Bethesda or CD Projekt Red, monolith, or even Larian Studios...
Otherwise it's just going to be another microtransaction DRM riddled piece of mediocrity.
The real issue is both Lucas and EA are two sides of the same coin. Both want to squeeze as much money as they can out of the fan base while creating the quickest turn around games.
Just re-use the platform and gameplay, but with SW IP.
i.e. Star-Wars Wolfenstein Return of Collossus, Star Wars Divinity 2, Star wars Witcher 3...
Would sell like hotcakes.
Activision over Ubisoft? Where have you been the past five years? Ubisoft is only getting better with every release since AC:Unity and Activision gets progressively worse with each CoD. Both in business model and game. Also, Ubisoft isn't really a franchise killer, if anything they over-do it or drag it out longer than it should - Heroes of Might and Magic is a prime example of that.
Destiny - nuff said. You don't want this; its one of the biggest scams in gaming history, except people fail to see this as they do with EA's lootbox fiesta. Game 1: 'we have a 10 year plan and 100 million dollar budget for this game, it will be expanded as we go along' (releases with a handful of small maps and fully instanced instead of the 'massive online' experience it was portrayed to be). Game 2: 'we still have a 10 year plan, but we decided to divvy up the game in 3 parts OH and yes, screw you because basically you get a reset for each sequel' (suddenly its a CoD clone WITH MTX and gated progression, but with limited lifetime, how's that gonna work??). Game 3? Who knows, if sales suck it might be a mobile app - whatever, you're guaranteed to start over once again anyway.
I get the sentiment because of Ubi's past, but the last couple of years literally every single adjustment they have made both in-game and in business models has been sound, has helped the game get better, and has solidified the community around each game. Whether its Rainbow Six, GR:W, The Division, even AC is in good shape now except for the DRM.
No really, the only good thing about Activision, is Blizzard, and that is only true because Blizzard still has a say over its own portfolio and business.
keeps game current and interesting to play > milks it.
Devs cant win
Since then, well maybe you've heard of the massive success of Pillars of Eternity? And now Pillars of Eternity sequel is coming out.
Yeah, they are still around.
But still, the lack of games coming from them is tiring even beyond the Battlefront disappointments. Where is a Star Wars Jedi Knight style game??? They have literally so many options and things they can do gift wrapped on a silver tray and all they have done is make basic shooters.
2004 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords
2006 Neverwinter Nights 2
2007 Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
2008 Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
2010 Alpha Protocol
2010 Fallout: New Vegas
2011 Dungeon Siege III
2014 South Park: The Stick of Truth
2015 Pillars of Eternity
2015 Pillars of Eternity: The White March – Part 1
2015 Armored Warfare
2016 Pillars of Eternity: The White March – Part 2
2016 Pathfinder Adventures
2016 Tyranny
2018 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire