Star Wars fans, fire up the Yub Nub song, because the franchise’s video games are finally free from the chains of EA! Early Wednesday morning, Lucasfilm Games announced via Twitter that the company is now partnering with Ubisoft for a new open world game set in the Star Wars universe. Thanks to an exclusivity deal with Disney, Electronic Arts has been the only company developing and publishing licensed Star Wars games since 2013 (outside of LEGO games). At the time, EA’s CFO Blake Jorgenson stated the contract would last “at least ten years” and would encompass projects “across multiple types of platforms.”
Those doing the math at home will note that EA’s agreement is currently still valid. So why the sudden change? In response to requests for comments, EA representatives have been distributing the following statement to outlets: “We are proud of our long-standing collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, which will continue for years to come… We love Star Wars, and we look forward to creating more exciting experiences for players to enjoy.” Douglas Reilly, VP of Lucasfilm Games, also stated to StarWars.com, “We’re really proud of the games we have created with EA. We will continue working with them and our relationship has never been stronger.“
Despite the blandly reassuring corporate speak emanating from the companies involved, the vagary of the situation leads audiences to believe that much is being left unsaid. Among gaming circles, almost no one would be shocked to learn that the issues lie with EA itself. To be fair, EA has indeed created some successful and entertaining titles for the Star Wars franchise. Most recently, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was well-received and gave fans of single-player games some much-needed attention after years’ worth of MMOs and online shooters. However, there’s been a hefty helping of bad in with that good.
Why Fans Are Happy Star Wars’s EA Exclusivity Ended
EA’s reputation with gamers is less than stellar, something the business’ executives have publicly admitted they don’t understand (via GamesIndustry.biz). But when the company is viewed under the lens of their endless cash grabs, mass layoffs, sneaky in-game ads, and reliance on loot boxes (which it has comically tried to rebrand as “surprise mechanics” to improve public relations), it should come as no surprise that Star Wars fans are happy to learn the franchise is exploring other options.
The animosity between Star Wars fans and EA reached a head with the release of Star Wars: Battlefront II in 2017. Despite the fact that the title was a full-priced purchase at $60, EA locked so much content behind additional paywalls that the game became nearly impossible to enjoy to the fullest without shelling out more cash. Anyone who wanted to play as Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader would either have to grind for 40 hours or purchase loot boxes for in-game currency to unlock them. On Reddit, the EACommunityTeam responded to players’ criticism by trying to spin this as a reward: “The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.” Naturally this didn’t sit well with fans, and it wasn’t long before bad press forced EA to revamp the game’s entire progression system.
In the interest of equality, it should be pointed out that Ubisoft has also earned its fair share of negative attention for its use of crunch, reports of internal misconduct and abuse, and its heavy-handed approach with microtransactions. While it’s likely that Ubisoft’s new Star Wars title won’t release until 2023 or later (after Disney’s exclusivity deal with EA officially ends), players can certainly wish that the company will learn from EA’s mistakes and give fans reason for a new hope.
