Without a doubt,Star Warsis one of the biggest licenses in the world in and outside of video games. WhenEA signed a 10-yearStar Warslicensing dealin 2013, it seemed as if the publisher was set up for massive success. EA—with its enormous financial backing and talented development teams—would not only be able to create AAA sci-fi games under theStar Warsbanner for the next decade, but it would also be able to use that 10-year period as an audition for perhaps another licensing deal after that.
However, after less than eight years, Disney (which ownsStar Wars) is already over the EA experience and ready to move on. In fact, Disney andStar Warsis already looking to the future bybringing back Lucasfilm Gamesand announcing new projects that will seemingly be ready as soon as the 10-year EA licensing deal has expired. It is not all bad news for EA, as the publisher will still be able to work on games moving forward, but it no longer has exclusive rights to the franchise. When looking at the situation, it has been messy, confusing, and frustrating for many. There was no plethora of projects, no multitude of genres, and overall little investment (it seems) on this deal. Thus, the decision for Disney andStar Warsto pull the exclusive plug was an easy one.
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Just Four Core Games in Eight Years
One big factor for removing EA’s exclusivity deal withStar Warshas to do something with quantity. Since 2013, EA has published just four coreStar Warstitles, starting with2015’sStar Wars: Battlefront. Later EA made a sequel to that game withStar Wars: Battlefront 2. After years of fans asking for a traditional single-playerStar Warstitle, EA finally releasedStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderin 2019, developed by Respawn Entertainment. And just a few months ago, in 2020,Star Wars: Squadronswas launched as a budget title for $39.99 USD.
While four games would be fine for a single developer, EA is one of the largest publishers on the planet. EA has teams like Visceral Games, BioWare, Criterion Games, and more, as well as many studios simply under the EA name planted all over the world. One would expect—with such a big name likeStar Wars—that EA would gather more of its development portfolio to start working on bigStar Warsgames over the years.
It is true that EA also launched avery successful mobile game calledStar Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.Additionally, BioWare continued to supportStar Wars: The Old Republic(which launched before the EAStar Warsdeal was inked). Those facts certainly help EA’s case in claiming that it can create and build on triumphant games with theStar WarsIP, but that is not really the point in the 10-year deal. The idea should not have been to make singular experiences, but instead to be able to create a whole-scale plan of action. If EA was capable of making singular solid games and nothing else, then Disney would not have needed to give it an exclusive contract.
The EA Star Wars Controversies
EA has long been a publisher with controversies, deserved or undeserved, but it may have never been uglier than themicrotransaction disaster that wasStar Wars: Battlefront 2. The game itself reviewed as a mediocre experience, but the multiplayer progression system that was built around microtransactions and a pay-to-win system was more obvious than perhaps any game before it. So much so that EA eventually took microtransactions out of the game eventually due to backlash. In the eyes of fans, this was just another reason that EA should not be handling their belovedStar WarsIP. Of course, EA has come back from this and Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a much better game today, but first impressions matter and can have a lost-lasting impact.
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One of the other major controversies has to do with the canceledStar Warsprojects, including reports of aStar Wars: Battlefrontspinoff as well as an open-world game from EA Vancouver.Unchartedcreative mindAmy Hennig’s canceledStar Warsgametops the list for painful cancelations during the EA era. So many were excited to learn that she was working on aStar Warstitle, which was to be a single-player campaign that was grounded and based in deep storytelling elements. New information has come out about the Visceral Games' project that only makes things more frustrating for fans. According to reports, even though production was coming along nicely, the game known as “Project Ragtag” was shut down thanks to time constraints and financial reasons. With EA being the financial powerhouse that it is, it is a tough pill to swallow knowing that an Amy Hennig-led project was shut down for these reasons.
What EA Could Have Done Differently
EA will still makeStar Warsgames, and while hindsight is 20/20, there are a bevy of things that it could have done differently to either maintain itsStar Warslicense after this 10-year period or simply to better utilize the time that it had. The formula of success could have revolved around three pillars of ongoing content: Single-player games, small scale experiences, and ongoing games as a service/multiplayer titles.
From a multiplayer and ongoing perspective, EA has the MOBA and mobile game down withStar Wars: The Old RepublicandStar Wars: Galaxy of Heroesrespectively. WithStar Wars: Battlefront 2, the microtransaction aspect really hurt EA. However, the formula is there for an ongoing game.Battlefront 2wasn’t necessarily needed, as the originalStar Wars: Battlefrontcould have just been built on with more maps, new guns, continual updates, and more. The biggest surprise is that EA never made its ownDestiny-like out ofStar Wars. If ever there was an IP to copy off of the formula ofDestiny, The Division, etc. it would beStar Wars. There is even a chance thatUbisoft’s new open-worldStar Warsgame will have elements of this. If EA had developed a successfulStar Warsgame in the mold ofDestiny,it could have been a big hit.
The other pillar to lean on for EA’s success withStar Warsis single players titles:Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderis a beloved game. The world ofStar Warsis massive and there are so many stories that can be told from different eras and perspectives. The Visceral Games project is an example of EA perhaps giving up on a title before it had the chance to be something special, not wisely investing in the deep love for solid single-player games.
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Lastly, EA could have thought outside of the box with small scaleStar Warsexperiences. Perhaps, handling with care, EA could have even used theEA Originals programand allowed indie teams to developStar Warstitles, where EA would still publish the games. Off-the-wall possibilities could have included a top-down Jedi indie game in the style ofHyper Light Drifteror perhaps a short story-driven pixel-art adventure game where players control a droid in the city-planet of Coruscant. EA only made four coreStar Warsgames, but it seems to have had other options to give players other unique and exceptionalStar Warsexperiences.
The Good That Has Come Out of This
While EA perhaps has not made all of the best decisions, between canceled games and ugly microtransaction decisions, the end result seems to be very good for fans, and even EA itself. Moving forward, EA will still be able to makeStar Warsgames. The aforementionedStar Wars: The Old Republic and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroeswill still be supported by EA (and for good reason, as they seem to be making good money for both EA and Disney). AndStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2is still likely in the works, by all accounts. Meanwhile, it is likely that future multiplayer games will be better supported, and eventuallyStar Wars: Battlefront 3(hopefully with a better-handled microtransaction system) will likely still be developed and released. Even with the hiccups, EA proved that it could release solid experiences.
From a player perspective, the fact that EA will no longer have the exclusivity rights when the 10-year deal is over means that Disney and Lucasfilms Games can handpick studios to make the best video games possible, like withUbisoft and the open-worldStar Warsgame. The fact that the Ubisoft project and Lucasfims Games announcement happened now—with multiple years left on the EA deal—likely means that Disney wants to get ahead of that 10-year licensing agreement so that the moment it is over, there are already brand newStar Warsgames from different developers and publishers ready to be released. MoreStar Warsfrom more teams of different genres, this is, again, a good thing for fans.
