EA are still going ahead with their Star Wars strategy game despite lay-offs and the cancellation of their Mandalorian-inspired first-person shooter.
The strategy game was announced by Respawn in January 2022, alongside a first-person shooter set within the Star Wars universe and a third game in the Jedi: Fallen Order series.
“Building on the previous successes of our EA relationship, this new collaboration highlights the trust and mutual respect shared between the world-class teams at EA, Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games,” said Sean Shoptaw of Walt Disney Games in a post at the time. “Fostered by the expertise and passion within each team, we will create thrilling original games for diverse audiences across the Star Wars galaxy.”
Last week though, the first-person shooter was cancelled by Respawn after a number of lay-offs at the company. According to several reports, the game would have been set after the events of Revenge Of The Sith and see players take control of a Mandalorian bounty hunter.
“As we’ve looked at Respawn’s portfolio over the last few months, what’s clear is the games our players are most excited about are Jedi and Respawn’s rich library of owned brands,” EA Entertainment president Laura Miele wrote in a statement.
“Knowing this, we have decided to pivot away from early development on a Star Wars FPS Action game to focus our efforts on new projects based on our owned brands while providing support for existing games.”
Since then, Bit Reactor has shared a note confirming their strategy game is still in the works.
“Last week was difficult for the industry, and more so because of our strong relationships within the other teams at Respawn. But for those asking, we are still hard at work, and our game was unaffected by last week’s news.”
Last week was difficult for the industry, and more so because of our strong relationships within the other teams at Respawn.
But for those asking, we are still hard at work, and our game was unaffected by last week's news.— BIT REACTOR (@bitreactor) March 2, 2024
They went on to say fans would see more of the game “as soon as it’s ready”.
In other news, a report has alleged that Embracer Group is in the process of selling Borderlands developer Gearbox to a third party.
Gearbox CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford reportedly told staff last week that a decision had been made about the future of the developer, though more information won’t be shared until next month.