Gary Whitta, co-writer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, criticized EA for its handling of the Star Wars license.
Although it seems as though Disney has been crushing box-office records, when it comes to Star Wars, they still need some serious work in the videogame department. Recently, we reported that Electronic Arts has just announced the cancellation of an open-world Star Wars title that was previously in development. In an official statement, EA confirmed that they're pulling the plug, instead choosing to refocus their efforts on another upcoming project entitled Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, slated for a holiday 2019 release. Created by Respawn Entertainment, CEO Vince Zampella announced the project back at E3 last summer. The title is reportedly set after the infamous Jedi massacre of Order 66 and will fall between Episodes 3 and 4. In conjunction with Lucasfilm, Electronic Arts revealed that the plot will center on a surviving Padawan, and naturally, fans will more than likely be able to wield a lightsaber coming up this December.
When it comes to recent Star Wars games, Electronic Arts has consistently managed to cause utter disappointment towards fans. From an array of mishaps with the 2015 release of Star Wars Battlefront to the mind-boggling microtransactions of Star Wars Battlefront II, the company has certainly stumbled as of late. Gary Whitta, one of the co-writers for Rogue One, expressed some sentiments shared by fans of the beloved franchise, and he wasn't about to mince his words. Whitta, who also helmed PC Gamer as former Editor-in-Chief, slammed Electronic Arts for mismanaging the entire Star Wars license. In a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games, Whitta deemed the entire situation an "embarrassment”.
"I would just take the license away from EA because it's been catastrophically mismanaged.” Whitta said. “If I was an EA shareholder, I'd be f-cking furious..." However, when asked about the upcoming Respawn title, he does have some hope that the game might, "right the ship a little bit.”
In 2013, the announcement of a collaboration between Disney and Electronic Arts had many buzzing with excitement, as fans were looking forward to a variety of new Star Wars games on the horizon. Previously, EA had announced a project with Visceral, which was also referred to as Ragtag, but it has also been scrapped. Whitta chimed in on the matter, stating that Ragtag would have been the Uncharted version of the Star Wars Universe. "My understanding of what they were saying all the way through was, 'But we don't want to make Star Wars Uncharted.' Well maybe don't hire the narrative director from the Uncharted games to make it for you then! Like, figure out what it is you actually want. So they cancel that, they throw their resources into this other, more ambitious game, and then they cancel that!" He lamented.
Be sure to check back here at The Gamer for new details regarding any upcoming Star Wars videogame developments as they are announced.
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