This year has seen the launch of two Star Wars games, with each one offering a new take on a galaxy far (far!) away. Bit Reactors’ Star Wars Zero Company puts its best XCOM foot forward with an aggressive take on turn-based tactics, while Fuse Games’ Star Wars Galactic Racer has been hailed for its superb roguelite racing, slick presentation, and the delightful Biddy Blas. Both games have been well received by critics and fans alike, and Lucasfilm Games has been paying attention to the success these independent studios have achieved.
“It very much is part of the strategy,” Lucasfilm Games VP Douglas Reilly said to The Game Business Show. “Obviously, huge AAA games like Battlefront are always going to be an essential part of the strategy. But one of the great things about Star Wars is it has all kinds of other opportunities to tell stories in different genres. The goal has been to find the best partner to bring that experience to life inside the galaxy far, far away. And it doesn’t have to always be AAA; sometimes it can be AA, and it’s really about the experience that we’re delivering and the fantasy we’re fulfilling.”
Reilly added that Lucasfilm Games wants to be more flexible in choosing who it partners with to create more Star Wars titles, and some of those studios will “surprise” people when they’re eventually revealed. As Reilly put it, Lucasfilm Games isn’t looking for a “top five publisher,” but rather teams that can meet their expectations for a high-quality title.
Even if the developer hasn’t established a track record yet, having experienced members on staff can help. Fuse Games is a good example: it was founded by former Criterion Games developers who worked on EA’s Burnout and Need for Speed series, as well as the two Star Wars: Battlefront games at the publisher.
That’s not to say that AAA Star Wars games can’t be successful, as the Battlefront series has been hugely popular–controversial lootboxes and all–and as of 2019, they’d sold through 33 million units combined.
Konami has also experienced success in recent years by entrusting the Silent Hill franchise to developers outside of its corporate borders. Between Bloober Team, NeoBards Entertainment, and Screen Burn Interactive, Silent Hill has been on a hot streak over the last couple of years.
As for future Star Wars games, one of the biggest ones in development is the single-player RPG Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. Like Zero Company and Galactic Racers, it’s being produced by a brand-new developer, Arcanaut Studios, under the direction of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect veteran Casey Hudson.