Visceral Games closed as unannounced Star Wars project taken in a new direction

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EA have announced they plan to shut down Visceral Games (Dead Space, Battlefield Hardline, Dante’s Inferno) and drastically overhaul the Star Wars title the studio has been working on.

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by Liam Andrews

@pass_controller

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According to Executive Vice President of EA, Patrick Söderlund, the publisher decided to change the creative direction of the game after receiving feedback from testing and in response to “fundamental shifts in the marketplace”.

Originally a linear, story-based title being penned by former Uncharted writer Amy Hennig, the unnamed project will now encompass a “broader experience” that aims to keep players coming back to the game, but will still maintain “authenticity” within the Star Wars universe.

“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,” wrote Söderlund.
 
“We are shifting the game to be a broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency, leaning into the capabilities of our Frostbite engine and reimagining central elements of the game to give players a Star Wars adventure of greater depth and breadth to explore.”
 
Game development is now being led by EA Vancouver (FIFA, NHL, SSX) who were already working on the project, while the majority of Visceral Games’ staff will (hopefully) be relocated to other EA studios and projects.
 
No new release window was provided for the game, which EA originally expected to launch late in their 2019 fiscal year.
 
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