Electronic Arts is closing the development studio Visceral Games, which is currently working on a Star Wars project. This game is still in development, but it is set to be completely changed. Apparently, it is moving towards “Games as a service” – like Destiny 2.
Visceral’s Star Wars game was originally conceived as an Uncharted-like, linear action-adventure. However, in its current form, the game will never see the light of day.
According to Electronic Arts, recent tests and feedback from testers have shown that players and the market want something different.
The design of the Star Wars game therefore needs to be revised. The graphics, the authenticity of the Star Wars universe, and the approach to telling an exciting Star Wars story will remain intact. Everything else will be redone by EA.
Will an action-adventure become a multiplayer game?
Patrick Söderlund, head of EA Worldwide Studios, explains the situation: “The Visceral studio was developing an action-adventure set in the Star Wars universe. In its current form, it was intended to be a story-based, linear adventure game. Throughout the development process, we tested the game concept with players and listened to the feedback they provided on what and how they want to play. We have also noticed fundamental changes in the market.”
Söderlund further states: “It has become clear that we need to change the design in order to deliver a player experience that players will return to and enjoy for a long time. We will keep the impressive graphics and credibility of the Star Wars universe while focusing on bringing a Star Wars story to life. Much more importantly, we will transform the game into a broader experience that offers more variety and activities for players, leveraging the capabilities of our Frostbite engine.”
This strongly indicates a pronounced multiplayer component and sounds like Destiny.
The market is changing – Destiny instead of Uncharted
Andreas says: Visceral’s Star Wars game was supposed to be a kind of Uncharted in space. To this end, the studio specifically hired developer Amy Hennig, who was responsible for the story of the Uncharted games at Naughty Dog. The market has changed, and games offering a long-term player experience have become more popular than single-player action adventures. Not only among players, but also among developers.
It’s easier to focus on the continuous evolution of a game than to create something entirely new every few years. This shift towards a “game as a service” model is now also a direction EA wants to commit to, as seen with Anthem.
With the new Star Wars game, the company apparently now follows a similar approach. Just as they left Mass Effect behind to push Anthem forward, they are now gearing Star Wars more towards Destiny than Uncharted.
Star Wars: Destiny?
It seems that we are about to see some kind of new Destiny in the Star Wars universe. A game with a continuous service that encourages players to stay engaged instead of looking for a new title after finishing the story. Through constant updates, expansions, a loot loop, and microtransactions, such a game will be endlessly extended.
How exactly this will look is something no one can say for now. Especially since the project has been postponed indefinitely due to the overhaul.
The original developer studio Visceral Games has been dissolved, and apparently a new team is now taking over the project. This team is now taking the time to completely overhaul the concept of the Star Wars project and implement the feedback from testers for a long-term player experience. Therefore, it will likely be a while before we learn more about the new design of the game.
Perhaps we will eventually see the new Star Wars in this list:
