Lucasfilm Rumored to Ditch EA for a New Game Publisher

[Chino]

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?


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[Vya Domus]

They are probably bigger profiteers than EA themselves. I would image the licensing agreements alone return massive profits to them for such a popular franchise , they probably don't even need successful games. They are just looking for another cow to milk , ironically.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Maybe losing these guys will help wake EA up a little.

Doubt it though.

 

[Totally]

Maybe losing these guys will help wake EA up a little.

Doubt it though.

Will never happen since the ones calling the shots at EA are the investors. Activision has the same affliction, Ubisoft seems to be partially immune since their crowd seems to be bent on DRM instead of hellbent on trying to milk it's customers.

 

[phanbuey]

ubisoft and activision? The makers of the most okayest big budget games...

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.

 

[dirtyferret]

Give your IP to one of the B-B-Os, Blizzard (even if they are activision), Bethesda, or Obsidian! Yes I'm fully aware Blizzard would not want it and Obsidian lacks the capital Lucas would want but you can dream.

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.

 

[RejZoR]

Ubisoft is about as bad option as EA. Activision is probably the best option, even though they have shit policies and pricings.

 

[phanbuey]

they just need to take a game/gameplay combo that already plays well, and dump star wars content into it like a huge DLC.

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.

 

[ironwolf]

I am not shedding a single tear for EA over this.

 

[blaznee]

Re-create Lucasarts Entertainment.. Buy some up and coming studio - US based..

 

[ArbitraryAffection]

EA, Activision, Ubisoft... these big "gaming" companies can all go die in a hole along with their damned DLC and micro-transaction garbage.

 

[ironwolf]

Oh, does this also include games like the MMO SW: The Old Republic?

 

[TheMailMan78]

I would say Bethesda, Crystal Dynamics or even Square.

 

[Vayra86]

Ubisoft is about as bad option as EA. Activision is probably the best option, even though they have shit policies and pricings.

WHAT

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.

 

[Totally]

Give your IP to one of the B-B-Os, Blizzard (even if they are activision), Bethesda, or Obsidian! Yes I'm fully aware Blizzard would not want it and Obsidian lacks the capital Lucas would want but you can dream.

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.

Obsidian still exists? I wouldn't want it anywhere near blizzard/Activision since whatever they'd release would just be a Star wars-skinned CoD/WoW. No thanks. And nothing interesting has come from Bethesda in a long time, since Skyrim their games have been middling to okay but overhyped because they are attached to the Bethesda name.

I would say Bethesda, Crystal Dynamics or even Square.

Ooooh, Crystal Dynamics they'd be good fit.

 

[TheDeeGee]

I would say Bethesda, Crystal Dynamics or even Square.

Bethesda likes to milk the f**k out of a game these days.

 

[Kursah]

Let's get Petroglyph involved in Empire at War 2!!!

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Bethesda likes to milk the f**k out of a game these days.

Abandons game > developer doesnt care. shit product.
keeps game current and interesting to play > milks it.

Devs cant win

 

[neatfeatguy]

EA had their chance - they screwed the pooch.There are other devs that are about as good as EA when it comes to milking as much cash out of the consumers as they can, but let another developer have a shot and see if they can deliver something actually worthwhile and not some shitty COD or Battlefield clone that's smeared with some pay/loot-crate system.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Obsidian still exists?

Yep. Hopefully you know their making of FNV stands as probably the best Bethesda game ever which is funny since they aren't actually Bethesda. Old news tho, 2010.

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.

 

[Totally]

Yep. Hopefully you know their making of FNV stands as probably the best Bethesda game ever which is funny since they aren't actually Bethesda. Old news tho, 2010.

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.

Oh did not realize, Pillars never made it onto my radar.

 

[Primey_]

This is not a rumour. It's pure speculation

 

[GhostRyder]

Well they certainly deserve some of this backlash as they have let people down in the marketplace when it comes to the Star Wars license. I mean its true that they really have not done anything with the license save for the two battlefront games and while they look fantastic the games do not play well. Heck DICE should have just re-skinned Battlefield with the star wars theme and added the space battles and different game modes which would have turned out better (Probably closer to the original Battlefront games) at least in my book especially when talking about it just from a gameplay perspective.

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.

 

[HammerON]

I would be happy to see them leave EA and look elsewhere!

 

[Totally]

Abandons game > developer doesnt care. shit product.
keeps game current and interesting to play > milks it.

Devs cant win

keeps game current and interesting to play? Using that phrase loosely don't you think? More like withholding content that should have been included with the base game in the first place so they can charge for more later. Seems like nowadays anything that remotely resembles what you described just gets repackaged as a whole new game instead of proper dlc or an expansion.