EA is still making Star Wars games, with 'a number of projects' ahead
Its deal with Disney may not be exclusive anymore, but it's still in the business.
The resurrection of the Lucasfilm Games brand as "the official identity for all gaming titles from Lucasfilm" left us with some questions, not least among them being what it meant for Disney's exclusive Star Wars deal with Electronic Arts. That's not due to expire until 2023, but there was no overlooking the absence of any mention of EA in the announcement.
The question of EA's Star Wars situation was clarified somewhat today—ironically, in the news that Ubisoft is working on a new open-world Star Wars game. The era of exclusivity is obviously over, but Lucasfilm Games vice-president Douglas Reilly told starwars.com that Electronic Arts will continue to make Star Wars games, too.
"We’re really proud of the games we have created with EA," Reilly said. "We will continue working with them and our relationship has never been stronger. While we may not have a lot of details to share at the moment, we’ve got a number of projects underway with the talented teams at EA."
A couple of hours after the Ubisoft announcement, EA also recommitted to the series and its Lucasfilm partnership:
✅ We love Star Wars. ✅ We look forward to continuing our partnership with Lucasfilm Games. ✅ We’re making more Star Wars games.✅ BD-1 is still the cutest.January 13, 2021
Between cancelled games, closed studios, and loot box blowups, EA's Star Wars decade didn't go as well as it might have. It did eventually find its footing, though, with successes including the Star Wars Battlefront games, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Star Wars: Squadrons. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said in June 2020 that the company plans to "double down" on its Star Wars partnership going forward, adding that "Disney continues to be very very committed to the IP."