EA have shut down Visceral Games, and can reboot their Star Wars title

Visceral Games had been engaged on an untitled Star Wars sport with Amy Hennig, previously the artistic director of the Uncharted franchise. According to EA’s official statement, this sport is transferring to the fingers of a crew from “across EA Worldwide Studios,” led by a core group from EA Vancouver. The assertion additionally means that many Visceral Studios staff will likely be shifted to different EA studios.

While the Star Wars sport is alive, it seems to be taking a basically totally different type than its unique pitch, which was linear and story-driven. “Throughout the development process,” says EA’s Patrick Söderlund, “we have been testing the game concept with players, listening to the feedback about what and how they want to play, and closely tracking fundamental shifts in the marketplace. It has become clear that to deliver an experience that players will want to come back to and enjoy for a long time to come, we needed to pivot the design.”

Though Söderlund isn’t precisely express it in saying it, I’d take that quote as secret code for “we’re turning into another game as service.” We’re nonetheless promised a Star Wars story, however one as a Frostbite-powered “broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency.”

It’s unclear what – if any – position Amy Hennig could have with the brand new sport. The rebooted Star Wars undertaking, no matter it finally ends up being, additionally gained’t be making the unique projected launch date of the tip of fiscal 2019, and a brand new launch window has but to be decided.

Visceral Games started as EA Redwood Shores in 1998, the place they labored on titles as diverse as PGA Tour, 007: Agent Under Fire, and licensed Lord of the Rings video games. They rebranded as Visceral following the discharge of Dead Space, and created titles like Dante’s Inferno and Battlefield Hardline alongside the remainder of the Dead Space trilogy.