When EA shuttered Dead Space developer Visceral last October, it also shuttered all but one project it was working on; a new, story driven Star Wars game that was helmed by Uncharted creator Amy Henning with development of the title set to continue over at EA Vancouver. It appears, however, that this is no longer the case.
Henning revealed to Eurogamer that she left EA in January and is currently forming her own studio. She wants to build her team to focus on VR projects. As for the Uncharted-style Star Wars game, it appears as if development on that has stalled and EA has a very 'different' title in the works.
"I'm not doing anything Star Wars...And, who knows what the future may hold, but that project is on the shelf now. The Vancouver studio is working on something pretty different...Its really not...Y'know, once you go more open world, it's such a different game to the one we were making. Everybody loved what we were doing and I'd love to see us resurrect that somehow, but its complicated." - Amy Henning to Eurogamer
EA hasn't yet commented on the status of the game, but they did release a statement on Henning's departure:
“Yes, Amy Hennig has moved on from Electronic Arts. Amy is an amazing storyteller — a crafter and a creator. We have so much respect for her and the creative spirit she brought to the teams and projects she worked on at EA. We wish Amy all the best with what comes next, and we will all be watching with excitement.”
The struggles that EA has had with the Star Wars license seem almost unparalleled. With Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefront II having massive issues and controversies of their own, the cancelled Star Wars 1313, a throng of mbile games that aren't really that great, and now this news, there seems to be little hope for fans of the Star Wars series to get the opportunity to explore the galaxy far, far away anytime soon. The only bright spot we have to go on is the reveal of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at EA Play 2018 a few weeks ago. Beyond that, its grim.
Perhaps its time Disney rethink their exclusivity with EA on Star Wars titles.
Only time will tell.