There is nothing unusual about the Star Wars license being adapted into a video game.
The adventures of the Skywalker family and the Extended Saga Universe have spawned nearly a hundred games over the past forty years, the most recent of which are Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and
Star Wars Squadrons
.
But that the French publisher Ubisoft is chosen by Disney to make a Star Wars game is a great first.
The Paris Bourse applauded the news, with Ubisoft's share rising 6%.
The Star Wars license was acquired exclusively by Electronic Arts (EA) in 2013 for a decade.
This partnership was not easy, between canceled projects and scandal around the policy of monetization of
Star Wars Battlefront 2
, a bad global buzz that had angered Disney.
Long-term collaboration
The entertainment giant obviously did not wish to renew such a type of contract and now prefers to entrust its precious license to several publishers.
“
EA has been and will continue to be an important partner for us.
But we think there is room for other studios,
”Sean Shoptaw, director of games and interactive entertainment at Disney, told the American site Wired.
Ubisoft is entrusted with the creation of an open-world Star Wars game.
“
This is the start of a long-term collaboration with Disney and Lucasfilm Games, and we are happy to work hand in hand to enrich Lucasfilm's incredible legacy with a game that will delight fans,
” said his CEO Yves Guillemot in a press release.
Development fails at Ubisoft Massive, a Sweden-based studio that originally licensed
The Division
open-world online games
.
"
It's a universe that we adore and we want to do it justice with a game and a story that will take its past and present enthusiasts on an immersive and extraordinary journey, which they will remember for a long time
", says Julian Gerighty, creative director of the upcoming Star Wars game.
The studio has launched a recruitment campaign.
If no release date has been communicated, the project is unlikely to hit the market for at least three years.
An Indiana Jones game in production
Disney, through its new division Lucasfilm Games, also announced on Tuesday the creation of a game under the Indiana Jones license.
The development has been entrusted to the American publisher Bethesda and its MachineGames studio (the
Wolfenstein
saga
).
Then again, very few details have leaked out other than that the game will be directed by Todd Howard, the director of Bethesda's biggest hit, Skyrim.
Disney has always preferred to entrust the adaptation of its video game licenses to external publishers.
The few development studios owned by the entertainment giant have been closed, including those at LucasFilm.
"
It would be too big a challenge to succeed on our own to match the quality of the games produced [by these third-party publishers] and to put them on sale quickly,
"
Sean Shoptaw
admits in
Wired
.
Disney should increase the number of non-exclusive external partnerships.
“
We have no shortage of people knocking on our door,
” admits Douglas Reilly, director of Lucasfilm Games.
