It appears that Electronic Arts no longer holds the exclusive rights to publish core Star Wars video games. Following the unveiling of Lucasfilm Games and the subsequent reveal of an Indiana Jones game from Bethesda's MachineGames, the company has now announced the first new Star Wars game that will be released under said Lucasfilm Games banner.
Lucasfilm Games and Ubisoft are collaborating for a new story-driven, open-world Star Wars game. It will be developed by Massive Entertainment, the Sweden-based studio behind The Division franchise.
“We’re really excited about an opportunity to work with the team at Massive, led by David Polfeldt and the creative director, Julian Gerighty. We’ve spent almost a year now, working to get to know them and what they want to bring to the table,” said Lucasfilm Games VP Douglas Reilly. “I’m a huge fan of them, personally. I think we’re really excited about where that project is going, because they have a unique vision for the story and the game they want to deliver.”
Ubisoft is known for delivering some of the most immersive worlds in gaming and while we don't know the specifics of what Massive Entertainment's game will entail, Reilly was excited about the possibility of what this game can bring to Star Wars fans.
“We know that fans of Star Wars value the feeling of immersion — of being transported into the Star Wars galaxy and moving through richly-detailed environments," Reilly said. "It’s fun to imagine what the team at Massive can do within Star Wars by bringing their innovative spirit and their commitment to quality,”
Obviously, there are still plenty of questions to be answered. For starters, what period in the Star Wars timeline will this game take place? Will it take players to multiple planets across the galaxy?
We also know that The Division was heavily story-driven but also supported multiplayer. Will this new Star Wars game follow the same approach? There was no mention of multiplayer or role-playing mechanics, two features that were heavily emphasized in The Division. So, if this turns out to be a single-player, open-world experience, does that mean something more in line with, say, the Assassin's Creed games?
Let the speculation begin!