When Disney acquired Star Wars in 2012 they wasted no time in shutting down LucasArts, the former gaming arm of Lucasfilm. They would go on to sell the Star Wars gaming license to EA, and former projects like Star Wars: 1313 were sadly canned (I still want a pre-OT Boba Fett game). Well, it seems Lucasfilm has decided to step back into the cockpit, because today they announced the creation of Lucasfilm Games, which will be the official brand and identity for all games published within the Star Wars universe.
What this means for their deal with EA remains uncertain (the license currently expires in 2023), but in the press release it’s mentioned that Lucasfilm Games was, “. . . developed in collaboration with the finest studios across the industry.” I’m not the brightest kyber crystal out there, but that kinda sounds like studios not owned by EA could be included. Then again, Warner Bros. publishes the Lego: Star Wars games, so I could be peering too deep into this. No matter how you shake it, any game published under the Star Wars brand will be rubberstamped by Lucasfilm Games, and they’ll double as a one-stop shop for all news concerning games within the Star Wars universe (you can find their Facebook and Twitter profiles via the hyperlinks).
The announcement came with a sizzle reel featuring many of the recent Star Wars games released, to include crossover events in other games. Nothing new was announced, but I personally learned there’s Star Wars content in the Sims 4. Take that as you will. It will be interesting to see how Lucasfilm Games operates in the coming years. Will we see more publishers outside of EA making Star Wars games, with Lucasfilm Games acting as the guiding hand? Will they some day take up LucasArt’s saber and develop games of their own? Fun fact: LucasArts was originally named Lucasfilm Games until it rebranded in the 90s!
The former is far, far more likely, yet it does leave me wondering: who would I like to see behind a new Star Wars game? I wouldn’t be upset if Obsidian were given another crack at a Star Wars RPG, though I doubt it’d be within The Old Republic franchise since it’s firmly owned by EA. What are your thoughts on the creation of Lucasfilm Games, and who would you like to see a Star Wars game from?
