The legendary film studio Lucasfilm will henceforth unite Star Wars games under the common banner “Lucasfilm Games”. However, the first game after the announcement is something completely different: a new Indiana Jones title in collaboration with Bethesda and MachineGames.
What kind of new game is this? In a new tweet, Bethesda, the studio behind the survival MMO Fallout 76, announced a new game. The short clip features a map, an old typewriter, and an iconic hat:
Indiana Jones fans will immediately recognize that it is about the tough archaeologist. Bethesda states that the game will be created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. Lucasfilm Games was only recently brought back to life.
The game is being developed by MachineGames, who have been responsible for the Wolfenstein series since 2014 and most recently Wolfenstein: Youngblood. The new Indiana Jones game may therefore hit similar gameplay notes as the dieselpunk cult.
From the story perspective, the game is supposed to be an “original story”, meaning it is not a remake of old game classics from the Jones universe. More information will follow.
The history of Lucasfilm Games
This is the studio’s past: Lucasfilm Games has existed since 1982 as part of Lucasfilm, the film studio founded by George Lucas, which is mainly known for the Star Wars series. In 1990, the studio was eventually renamed to the now probably better-known LucasArts. The studio’s portfolio includes famous classics such as:
- Maniac Mansion
- the Monkey Island series
- various Star Wars and Indiana Jones titles
On April 3, 2013, the studio was finally closed after the acquisition by Disney. Game development was transferred to Disney itself or licensed third studios. Now Lucasfilm Games is officially back.
How does this relate to the present? Lucasfilm Games apparently will not work directly on new games. Instead, the studio is supposed to distribute all licenses for its products to other studios and publishers and then summarize them under its name (via Gamespot).
In the announcement trailer for the reformation of Lucasfilm Games, many Star Wars games can be seen, which are actually currently under EA Games, including the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic or the new Star Wars Squadrons.
Will Lucasfilm Games be a problem for EA and SWTOR?
Since the acquisition of Lucasfilm, the license for Star Wars games has actually been with Electronic Arts (EA). Now, with the reestablishment of Lucasfilm Games, some players are wondering how everything will proceed.
EA’s games include Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is still played by many fans. So far, there is no information on whether EA will lose the licenses for Star Wars and what this would mean for the MMORPG.
However, Lucasfilm Games is likely to be responsible only for distributing the licenses and not developing itself, at least for now. It sounds as if all works that originally sprang from the spirit of George Lucas are merely to be summarized under one banner.
We do not yet know when we can expect the Indiana Jones game or new Star Wars titles from Lucasfilm Games and other studios.
Epic Games is giving away Star Wars: Battlefront 2. So if you’re in the mood for some star shooting after the news, you can get the game for free from January 14 to January 21.
