Electronic Arts has announced major plans to create more Star Wars games, with its studios and partners developing three new games. These include a sequel to the hit Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, as well as a new first-person shooter from Respawn and a strategy game from former XCOM developers.
. Respawn game director Stig Asmussen is working on the next entry in the Star Wars Jedi series, following the success of Jedi Fallen Order. Another game is a first-person shooter, with Peter Hirschmann as its game director. The third game is a strategy title from the newly established studio Bit Reactor. Respawn is producing this title, with Bit Reactor handling the development.
EA has major plans for Star Wars
According to reporter Jason Schreier, the new Jedi game might be released as soon as later this year, while the other two titles are reportedly “many years away.” Indeed, in EA’s own press release, it called on developers to apply to the company’s open positions to work on the new Star Wars games.
The Jedi Fallen Order sequel has been in production for a while and should be out this year or next. The shooter and strategy game sound like they're many years away. This type of announcement is often for hiring purposes — particularly essential now, during the Great Resignation
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 25, 2022
“We are excited to continue working with the superbly talented developers at Respawn,” Lucasfilm Games boss Douglas Reilly said. “They have demonstrated excellence in telling epic Star Wars stories along with best-in-class gameplay across different genres and we are looking forward to bringing more amazing experiences to the galaxy far, far away.”
Hirschmann was previously a VP of development at LucasArts and produced the original Battlefront games. Work has only “just begun” on the new Star Wars FPS at Respawn.
According to reporter Jeff Grubb, Respawn’s new Star Wars FPS is being made by the same team that developed the VR game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. However, the new game is not a VR title, and is apparently a “traditional” FPS.
Yeah. Not a VR game. The Star Wars FPS is a traditional game from the team that most recently made Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) January 25, 2022
As for Bit Reactor’s new Star Wars strategy game, basically nothing is known about it, but production is being led by former XCOM and Civilization developers, including Greg Foertsch.
EA did not announce any new Star Wars Battlefront games. The series was headed up by Battlefield studio DICE, which apparently pitched Battlefront 3 but the licensing costs were reportedly too high. EA’s Battlefront and Battlefront 2 sold a combined 33 million copies.
In total, EA has sold more than 52 million Star Wars games over the years that have generated $3 billion, with the mobile game Galaxy of Heroes generating $1 billion on its own from microtransactions.
“Building on the previous successes of our EA relationship, this new collaboration highlights the trust and mutual respect shared between the world-class teams at EA, Respawn, and Lucasfilm Games,” Walt Disney Games VP Sean Shoptaw said. “Fostered by the expertise and passion within each team, we will create thrilling original games for diverse audiences across the Star Wars galaxy.”
All of these games are coming as Respawn continues to work on Apex Legends and another game. That new project’s creative director, Mohammad Alavi, recently left the company.
Oh and these games are in ADDITION to Apex Legends and the other early Respawn project whose creative director, Mohammad Alavi, just left. No I do not know how one studio is possibly doing all of this
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 25, 2022
EA no longer holds the exclusive license for Star Wars games on console and PC. Ubisoft is developing its own new open-world Star Wars game, while Zynga is making a free-to-play shooter called Star Wars: Hunters. A Knights of the Old Republic remake is also in the works for PS5 and PC from Aspyr Media.
Source: Gamespot
