EA Is "Done With Star Wars" After Its Next Three Projects
Don't give me hope
Publisher Electronic Arts will release three more Star Wars games before it steps away from the franchise, at least for the foreseeable future.
This is according to a new report from VentureBeat, which claims that EA is "done" with Star Wars after the next three projects from Respawn Entertainment are released.
For those that might have missed the news yesterday, the EA announced three Star Wars projects, all in development at Respawn Entertainment. The first is the long-rumoured sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2, which is expected to be out this year. The second is a brand-new FPS which is not a new Battlefront, and the third is a strategy game.
We can expect to hear more on all three titles soon, but for now, this seems to mark the end of EA's relationship with Star Wars. This, apparently, is so that the publisher can focus on IP it actually owns, including Dead Space, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect.
EA infamously gained exclusive rights to the Star Wars license in 2013, winning a 10-year contract to be the only publisher that could release games set in the universe.
Following what can only be described as a bumpy run that included a string of cancelled games and two poorly received Battlefront titles, EA lost those exclusives rights a few years early.
At the very start of January 2021, Lucasfilm announced the return of Lucasfilm Games, confirming that EA would no longer be the only company who could make Star Wars games. At the time of writing, Ubisoft, Quantic Dream, and Aspyr Media all have their own Star Wars projects on the go. And there are doubtless plenty more still to be announced from other studios down the line.
Honestly, it's hard to consider EA stepping away from Star Wars as anything other than a relief. Jedi: Fallen Order is a great game, and I'm certain Respawn's upcoming titles will all be great. But how can you hold the rights to Star Wars and own BioWare for nearly ten years and not make a new Knights Of The Old Republic? That's unforgiveable, if you ask me.
Featured Image Credit: EATopics: Star Wars, Respawn Entertainment