Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment, the developer behind The Division, has partnered with Lucasfilm Games to make a new open-world Star Wars game. Such a reveal marks the first time in almost a decade that publisher Electronic Arts has not been affiliated to a Star Wars-related video game property.
Since Disney’s procurement of Lucasfilm almost a decade ago in 2012, EA has had a connection to exclusive Star Wars games right. That alliance resulted in the launch of a few bestselling games such as a Star Wars Battlefront reboot in 2015, Star Wars Battlefront 2, and the critically acclaimed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
However, for critics and fans alike, the fruits of Electronic Arts are rather antagonistic, especially when considering the number of aborted Star Wars projects under the stewardship of EA. Apparently, times are changing.
The newly rebranded Lucasfilm Games is collaborating with French publisher Ubisoft. In this contract, Massive Entertainment will head development on a new open-world Star Wars game. The director behind The Crew and The Division 2, Julian Gerighty, is also on board to work as the new title’s creative director.
In addition, based on a post from Wired, Massive Entertainment’s Snowdrop Engine will power the new game. Speaking to Wired, Disney’s SVP of Global and Interactive Experiences, Sean Shoptaw, discussed why EA is not associated this time around. “EA has been and will continue to be a very strategic and important partner for us now and going forward. But we did feel like there’s room for others.”
Disney is not just opening its arms for the Star Wars franchise, either. This interest in further extending its video game output recently climaxed in the revelation of a new Indiana Jones project from Bethesda studio MachineGames. It appears Disney is opening its arms far and wide, so it will be exciting to witness what else the company may have in store for fans in the long term.
Of course, these endeavors are most definitely years out from launch. And no one knows exactly when the developer’s new Star Wars game will enter full production. In addition to one team juggling existing content for The Division 2, Massive Entertainment has spent the past several years working hard on another licensed project – a new Avatar game.
Ubisoft revealed the temporarily titled The Avatar Project a few years ago in 2017. Since then, information about the new game remained scarce. However, earlier last year, Massive Entertainment producer Jesper Karabanov confirmed the Avatar game is still under development.
