All right, history lesson time for those who don’t remember: Back in 1982, Lucasfilm had created Lucasfilm Games as part of the company’s gaming creation and publishing arm. Most people are familiar with this company as LucasArts, a name it came up with after a reorganization in 1990. This was the overarching company name for most Star Wars-related games all the way up to Disney’s acquisition of everything Lucasfilm — including the games department — in 2012. Then in 2013, Disney effectively shut down LucasArts in the interest of “minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games.”
This is all effectively leading up to yesterday’s reveal that Lucasfilm Games is back once more, announcing a unified identity for all Star Wars games going forward along with a flashy new logo, some new social media channels, and a sizzle reel celebrating already released Star Wars games and tie-ins.
“Lucasfilm’s legacy in gaming stretches back decades. And with Lucasfilm and the galaxy far, far away entering a new and unprecedented phase of creativity, so will the world of Lucasfilm Games — developed in collaboration with the finest studios across the industry.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean anything for existing Star Wars titles such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Wars Squadrons, or Star Wars Battlefront II, but it does seem to indicate that other development studios are being brought into the fold; readers will also recall that Electronic Arts had signed a multi-year deal to create Star Wars games, which is set to end in 2023.
Worth noting here is that Lucasfilm had multiple IPs under its belt, not just Star Wars – in fact, it appears we’re getting a new Indiana Jones game from Bethsoft, though whether it’s multiplayer (and something we’ll continue further) remains to be seen!
A new Indiana Jones game with an original story is in development from our studio, @MachineGames, and will be executive produced by Todd Howard, in collaboration with @LucasfilmGames. It'll be some time before we have more to reveal, but we’re very excited to share today’s news!
— Bethesda (@bethesda) January 12, 2021
