Lucasfilm Games Is Resurrected And Takes Control Of Future Star Wars Games
There's a disturbance in the force as the once-forgotten Lucasfilm games is back to usher in a new era of Star Wars games. With a resurrection akin to Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the OG home of Star Wars games is ready to hop behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon and do its own Kessel Run.
Much like any gaming series based off a big franchise, the many years of Star Wars titles have delivered a mixed bag. Alongside highs like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, we've plumbed the depths of despair with Kinect Star Wars and Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi. Here's hoping second time lucky will be a bit more fruitful for Lucasfilm Games.
How was Lucasfilm Games resurrected?
According to an official announcement from StarWars.com, Lucasfilm Games is back from the dead and excitedly exploring pastures new as it regains control of all future Star Wars games. That surely means a potential sequel to the beloved Fallen Order would come under this new umbrella?
Alongside celebrating the launch of new social channels for Twitter (@LucasfilmGames) and Facebook (@LucasfilmGames), there was an all-star sizzle reel celebrating the publisher's past. The announcement wrote, "Lucasfilm's legacy in gaming stretches back decades, and with Lucasfilm and the galaxy far, far away entering a new and unprecedented phase of creativity, so will the world of Lucasfilm Games".
Moving forward, all Lucasfilm Games will feature the Lucasfilm Games logo. The first of these is expected to be Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which is due out in the next few months. The confirmation that games will continue to be “developed in collaboration with the finest studios across the industry” suggests Lucasfilm Games won't be handling its own IPs.
Away from Star Wars, Lucasfilm Games' impressive legacy includes the Monkey Island games and Day of the Tentacle. EA Game's deal with Star Wars will remain in place until 2023, but it's unclear whether it will be extended. Last year, EA CEO Andrew Wilson told investors about the studio's plans to “double down” on delivering Star Wars content, suggesting there's plenty more in the pipeline.
What happened to Lucasfilm games?
Originally founded in 1982 by George Lucas himself, Lucasfilm Games was supposed to bring all the fun and frolics of Wookiees and Ewoks into our homes as video games. Back then, the gaming industry was first finding its stride, but you were limited to only a few systems. Nowadays, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox duke it out in their own lightsaber battle.
There's been a recent resurgence in Star Wars games - thanks mainly to Battlefront and Knights of the Old Republic. Lucasfilm Games was rebranded as LucasArts and did pretty well until Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. By 2013, the House of Mouse had shuttered LucasArts and the Star Wars gaming name has largely been handled by EA.
The history of Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts is a colourful one, however, the resurrection will surely raise questions about whether any of the canned projects could be saved. Namely, LucasArts had been working on the mythical Star Wars 1313, which would've followed Boba Fett through the underground of Coruscant's shady Level 1313. Only recently, God of War's Cory Barlog said someone needs to make a game based on Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian. This sparked an outcry among franchise fandom that we should revisit 1313.
Unfortunately, the announcement that Lucasfilm Games has been resurrected didn't come with any new game announcements. As the world of Star Wars gathers steam on the small screen, and The Mandalorian is joined by spin-off shows for Ahsoka Tano and Boba Fett, it's only a matter of time before Lucasfilm Games follows suit. Come on, give us the Mandalorian game we've all been waiting for.
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Images via EA Games/ Lucasfilm Games
