Lucasfilm Games is back! Disney announced today that Lucasfilm Games "is now the official identity for all gaming titles from Lucasfilm, a name that encompasses the company’s rich catalog of video games and its eye toward the future." Official social media channels have already been set up, promising breaking news delivered directly to fans.
A special sizzle reel celebrating the rich history of games from Lucasfilm was also shared. Interestingly, the video contains footage from games published by Electronic Arts, including the recent Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: Squadrons, suggesting these, too, will be encompassed under this new banner.
Lucasflim Games was responsible for a number of games in the '80s and '90s -- and not just Star Wars or Indiana Jones titles. Classics like Rescue on Fractalus!, Labyrinth: The Computer Game, and Maniac Mansion came from Lucasfilm Games.
Lucasfilm Games went on to become LucasArts Entertainment Company in 1990 as part of a major reorganization of the Lucasfilm divisions. LucasArts is probably the better-known name these days, having delivered dozens of games throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Star Wars Rebel Assault, Star Wars: TIE Fighter, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire are just some of the games developed by the studio, but LucasArts also published a bunch more, including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (developed by Obsidian Entertainment) and Star Wars: The Old Republic (developed by BioWare).
In 2013, following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4 billion (in 2012), LucasArts was shuttered. Disney had chosen to remove itself from internal video game development and instead turned to Electronic Arts, signing a multiyear licensing agreement for exclusive rights to publish Star Wars video games on console and PC. Disney currently farms out the franchise to various other studios for mobile and casual games.
Up until this announcement, EA has been the primary publisher for all Star Wars games geared towards the “core gaming audience” on console and PC. But nothing about this announcement suggests this will change now or in the near future. The announcement even mentions that Lucasfilm Games was "developed in collaboration with the finest studios across the industry."
If anything this seems like a rebranding with the sole purpose to create an umbrella -- a single place for fans to go to for all the Star Wars games released by various developers and publishers.