Two new games are allegedly in the works
Electronic Arts hasn’t been shy or merciful when it comes to shutting downStar Warsgames. Last month,we got wordtheStar Warsgame that was codenamedOrca(and was an evolution of Visceral’s project codenamedRagtag) was canceled. Now, anotherStar Warstitle has been canned, even though it was supposed to be the substitute forOrca.
Kotakureports that EA has canceled the codenamedStar Wars Viking, aBattlefrontspinoff that had open-world systems.Vikingwas in development at EA Vancouver and had Criterion (now the full-timeNeed for Speedstudio) as support. EA had hoped to haveVikingin stores alongside the launch of new consoles this holiday.
Vikinghad to be a smaller-scoped game to fit into that timeline, and it seems as if the developers all had lofty ambitions. Kotaku’s sources point to a “too many cooks in the kitchen” mentality, with Criterion insisting on strong narrative and characters in ways that didn’t really mesh with EA Vancouver’s prototyping. Additionally, the schedules of a west coast studio and a UK studio made coordination even tougher.
EA saw the writing on the wall — mostly that this game would never be finished by Holiday 2020. Without that PS5/Xbox Series X launch in its sights, EA didn’t see a reason to continue development on a game that couldn’t fulfill its original need.Vikingwas canceled in the first half of 2019, although its story is being told nearly a year later.
According to Kotaku, EA still has twoStar Warsprojects in the works: aJedi: Fallen Ordersequel at Respawn and “a more unusual” game at EA Motive. Given the success ofJedi: Fallen Order, the sequel is probably safe. But who knows. EA likes to blow upStar Warsgames like they’re the Death Star.
