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All told, EA’s Star Wars games have generated $3 billion in net bookings for the publisher, and there are still more Electronic Arts-produced adventures to come for the beloved sci-fi franchise. EA’s 10-year Star Wars exclusivity deal began in 2013; while it won’t end until 2023, Lucasfilm Games is already in talks to partner with other developers in the future. Most notably, Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment, The Division studio, recently announced plans to craft an open-world Star Wars title.
Star Wars: Battlefront from DICE marked EA’s first big outing with the exclusivity deal, yet failed to demonstrate the benefits of the arrangement. Two years later that particular disappointment was followed by another, Battlefront II, which notoriously became embroiled in a microtransaction controversy that still shapes discussions regarding in-game purchases. EA’s stewardship of the Star Wars gaming brand has fostered a gem or two, however. In late 2019, Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment wowed fans with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. And Motive Studios’ space combat title, Star Wars: Squadrons, launched just last year to much acclaim. When taking all of EA’s Star Wars efforts into consideration, then, it’s easy to how the deal has generated billions, despite the various shortcomings.
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Seeking Alpha (via IGN) transcribed yesterday’s EA earnings call, wherein CEO Andrew Wilson divulged that the publisher’s stable of Star Wars games has generated “over $3 billion life-to-date net bookings and 52 million games sold.” It’s worth noting these figures also take into consideration titles that were sold prior to the exclusivity deal, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Interestingly, according to Wilson, mobile game Galaxy of Heroes is a “$1 billion franchise.” The CEO also reiterated that despite the recently announced project from Ubisoft, EA will continue developing Star Wars adventures. He explained, “I don’t think you should imagine that the fact that some other people will build some Star Wars games is going to change our commitment to that IP or our ability to build the appropriate number of games.”
There’s plenty to suggest Respawn is currently hard at work on a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In fact, Andrew Wilson himself shared the first confirmation of such a possibility in another earnings call last year, telling investors that Respawn’s Star Wars endeavor merely served as the beginning of “an entirely new franchise.” What other adventures EA may have cooking in the galaxy far, far away remains to be seen, though.
What’s also unclear is who else Lucasfilm Games may turn to for Star Wars projects. Shortly before the Ubisoft announcement, Bethesda and Lucasfilm Games unveiled plans to produce an Indiana Jones title with Wolfenstein’s MachineGames. This all indicates that Lucasfilm and Disney are open to trying new things.
Source: Seeking Alpha, IGN