Star Wars: Squadrons’ developer says it’s working on ‘several’ new games
EA previously said it would “double down” on Star Wars following recent success
Star Wars: Squadrons developer Motive is working on “several” unannounced projects, it’s said.
The Montreal-based Electronic Arts studio has undergone a rebrand following the release of Squadrons, which is its first fully-developed title since the company was formed in 2015. It previously collaborated on DICE’s Battlefront 2.
In a blog post published this week, Motive GM Patrick Klaus detailed the studio’s new mission to create games which “empower players to create, experiment, live and share their own unique stories.”
He said: “In the days leading up to the release of Star Wars: Squadrons, you may have seen our refreshed brand logo and that’s what I’m here to talk more about.”
He added: “In addition to Star Wars: Squadrons, we’re also working on several unannounced projects. Innovation is tough, but it’s also exciting and energizing.
“With our new mission, we’re trying a lot of things and testing many ideas which you can’t get attached to, as iteration and experimentation are healthy and a key to finding something great.
“The team is super talented and we’re all striving to make aspirational games that push the boundaries of what players expect now and into the future.”
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson recently said the company intended to “double down” on the Star Wars license following a string of recent successful game releases.
EA’s previous Star Wars title, Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order, exceeded expectations with over ten million sales, and Wilson claimed in June that the first two Battlefront games had sold more than 35 million units combined.
“We have a tremendous relationship with Disney [and] we have a tremendous relationship with LucasArts – we have a long-standing relationship with them going all the way back to Star Wars: The Old Republic, which we launched in 2011,” Wilson said.
“We’ve had success in first-person shooters, in RPGs, in action-adventure, in MMORPGs, in mobile and I believe we’re going to have success in Squadrons as well. So again, I think that we’re going to double down on that partnership. Disney continues to be very, very committed to the IP and the canon, and continue to create new content.”
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Wilson said that overall, he felt there continued to be “a really, really strong opportunity” in and around Star Wars games going forward.
EA’s relationship with Star Wars has also experienced its challenges. Battlefront 2 attracted significant criticism for its reliance on the loot box mechanic, a feature that the publisher removed just hours before launch.
EA’s now defunct Visceral studio also spent two years developing a Star Wars heist game called Ragtag under prominent game director Amy Hennig (Uncharted) before it was cancelled. Another Star Wars project, ‘Orca’, was then reportedly spun off of Ragtag, only for it to be cancelled in 2018.
Earlier this year Kotaku reported that EA had two Star Wars games in development, including a sequel to Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
