An
Update on the Visceral Star Wars Project on the EA website has word from
EA's Patrick Söderlund of a change in direction for the Star Wars game that was
in development at Visceral. This includes the news that Visceral is being closed
down, saying, "Our Visceral studio will be ramping down and closing, and we’re
in the midst of shifting as many of the team as possible to other projects and
teams at EA." This also brings into question the future of Uncharted Writer Amy
Hennig who joined the project
in 2014, as
Kotaku says
an EA spokesperson stated via email, "We are in discussions with Amy about her
next move." Here's the news:
Our industry is evolving faster and more
dramatically than ever before. The games we want to play and spend time with,
the experiences we want to have in those games, and the way we play…all those
things are continually changing. So is the way games are made. In this
fast-moving space, we are always focused on creating experiences that our
players want to play…and today, that means we’re making a significant change
with one of our upcoming titles.
Our Visceral studio has been developing an action-adventure title set in the
Star Wars universe. In its current form, it was shaping up to be a story-based,
linear adventure game. Throughout the development process, we have been testing
the game concept with players, listening to the feedback about what and how they
want to play, and closely tracking fundamental shifts in the marketplace. It has
become clear that to deliver an experience that players will want to come back
to and enjoy for a long time to come, we needed to pivot the design. We will
maintain the stunning visuals, authenticity in the Star Wars universe, and focus
on bringing a Star Wars story to life. Importantly, we are shifting the game to
be a broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency, leaning
into the capabilities of our Frostbite engine and reimagining central elements
of the game to give players a Star Wars adventure of greater depth and breadth
to explore.
This move leads to a few other changes:
A development team from across EA Worldwide Studios will take over development
of this game, led by a team from EA Vancouver that has already been working on
the project. Our Visceral studio will be ramping down and closing, and we’re in
the midst of shifting as many of the team as possible to other projects and
teams at EA.
Lastly, while we had originally expected this game to launch late in our fiscal
year 2019, we’re now looking at a new timeframe that we will announce in the
future.
Bringing new Star Wars games to life for every passionate fan out there is what
drives us as creators. It’s what has inspired us to deliver the massive new Star
Wars Battlefront II experience launching in just a few weeks. It fuels our live
service in Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes. Making games in the extraordinary Star
Wars universe is truly a dream for so many of us at EA, and we have so many more
experiences to come for players on every platform. We want to take the time to
get each game right, to make it unique, to make it amazing.
We look forward to answering more of your questions, and sharing more on our
plans and timeline for this new Star Wars experience, in the months to
come.