When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and by extension the Star Wars property, one of the biggest changes they made was the closure of long-time game developer LucasArts. Highly anticipated games in development like Star Wars 1313 and First Assault were cancelled, and the rights were given to the mega gaming conglomerate EA Games. So far, the only fruit of this deal has been Star Wars: Battlefront, the reboot of a LucasArts franchise which pits armies of Rebels and Imperials against each other in an online setting.
Jade Raymond is well known in the video game industry as one of the leads that built the Assassin’s Creed Franchise. Raymond has since moved on to create Motive Studios at EA Games and she currently presides as Group General Manager over Motive and Visceral games.
Preemptive to EA Play, an event being hosted in conjunction with E3 2016, Raymond recently spoke out on EA’s website to discuss the state of her studio’s first big Star Wars project:
[Motive Studios] are well on our way, beginning our journey with a Star Wars game, and exploring ideas for our original IP. It’s really quite amazing to be a part of, and I can’t wait to be able to share more.
Moving on, Raymond revealed that Visceral Games is also in an “exciting phase of development,” and discussed the contributions of Amy Hennig who previously served at Naughty Dog as head writer and creative director for the Uncharted series:
Finally, Raymond revealed that the studio is growing as they ramp up for production. Those disappointed by Battlefront’s dearth of single player content will be happy to hear that the Motive Studios and Visceral Games are ramping up for something truly epic. Story-based Star Wars adventures seem to be on the horizon, which is great news for fans of expanded universe adventures like the beloved Knights of the Old Republic.
Seeing Amy Hennig lead this team through the creative process has been incredible. She is a rare breed of storyteller, and she’s collaborating with the creative leaders at Lucasfilm to tell a new, authentic Star Wars story.
With a team that’s already created some of the biggest games of the past decade, the future of the Star Wars video games is starting to look much brighter. But, it remains to be seen how these new Star Wars games will be realized in the coming years.
Star Wars: Battlefront is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Source: EA.com
