The internet has been buzzing about Lucasfilm Games all week. This is essentially a rebrand of the once-prolific LucasArts, but it also signals the end of the era where only EA Games is allowed to make Star Wars video games.
EA has gone on record to say that we can keep expecting them to make Star Wars games beyond the expiration date of their exclusivity deal. This deal was set to expire in 2023, but with the announcement of an Ubisoft open-world Star Wars game, folks are speculating that the agreement ended early. To these people I should point out that Ubisioft’s game likely won’t be out until after 2023, so it’s possible they’re allowed to work on Star Wars as long as they don’t release anything until EA’s exclusivity deal expires.
This is good news, because we can now get the best of both worlds. We can continue to expect franchises like Star Wars Battlefront to continue (there are already rumors that Battlefront 3 is in development), while other studios will be allowed to offer their own creative input into the galaxy far, far away.
As someone who remembers the disappointment of the prequel films, I’m always cautious about my Star Wars enthusiasm. Still, it seems like the future is probably bright for Star Wars video games.
