Electronic Arts has decided to shut down Visceral Games, one of the company's oldest studios and the one behind the Dead Space franchise.
Visceral Games, however, was working on a single-player Star Wars game. Will the title be shelved? Or will it continue development elsewhere?
Electronic Arts Shuts Down Visceral Games
Visceral Games, which started as Redwood Shores, took its current name in 2009 after the first Dead Space title was released in 2008. Other games that it has worked on since then include Battlefield: Hardline, Dante's Inferno, The Godfather, and Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel.
However, as executive VP of EA Worldwide Studios Patrick Soderlund wrote in a blog post detailing the shutdown of Visceral Games, the video game industry is "evolving faster and more dramatically than ever before." As such, the company has decided to ramp down and close the long-standing studio.
What Will Happen To Visceral's 'Star Wars' Game?
As noted by Soderlund, Visceral was working on an action-adventure game that was set within the Star Wars universe, which was shaping up to be a story-based linear title.
The development on the game will continue. However, through player feedback and industry trends, EA decided to change the design of the Star Wars game so that players will want to keep coming back to it and enjoying it for a long time.
"We will maintain the stunning visuals, authenticity in the Star Wars universe, and focus on bringing a Star Wars story to life," Soderlund wrote. He added that the shift in the game's development will be to create a playing experience that will allow for more variety through the utilization of its Frostbite engine and giving the Star Wars title more depth and breadth.
Picking up where Visceral will be leaving off will be EA Vancouver, which has already started working on the project. Codenamed Ragtag, the title will still use much of the work accomplished by Visceral. The assets will still serve as the foundation of the new Star Wars game, Soderlund wrote in an email to EA employees.
The changes for the Star Wars game has also pushed back its expected release date beyond the initial target of late fiscal year 2019. The new launch date will be announced in the future.
The details of the Star Wars game that Visceral was working on were not revealed as well as why it needed an overhaul. In any case, it appeared that it was in trouble too much that it needed to be reworked. In the meantime, Star Wars fans can instead look forward to Star Wars Battlefront II, which will launch next month.
