Ubisoft developing open-world Star Wars game, ending EA exclusivity

By Giovanni Colantonio January 13, 2021

Ubisoft is developing an open-world Star Wars game that will release under the revived Lucasfilm Games banner. The planned release will be the first Star Wars game from a studio outside of EA in nearly a decade, ending a multiyear exclusivity deal.

The new title is being developed by Ubisoft Massive and will use the studio’s Snowdrop engine. The Division 2 director Julian Gerighty is serving as creative director on the project and Ubisoft is currently staffing up for it.

Ubisoft hasn’t revealed any specifics about the game. Per a report from Wired, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot teased that the game will be a first for the franchise.

“We are excited to have our Ubisoft Massive studio working closely with Lucasfilm Games to create an original Star Wars adventure that is different from anything that has been done before,” says Guillemot.

The news is significant as EA previously had an exclusive deal with Disney to create its Star Wars games. When the deal was announced in 2013, it was heralded as a 10-year agreement between the two companies. Disney President of Global Games Sean Shoptaw told Wired that the company would continue working with EA, but wanted to open the door for other developers as well.

The news comes one day after Bethesda revealed that it is working on a new Indiana Jones game under the Lucasfilm Games name. Disney recently revived the Lucasfilm Games brand, but it appears that the company will only serve as a label and not as an actual developer on any projects.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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The best Star Wars games of all time

Cal fighting the Ninth Sister in Jedi Fallen Order.

Star Wars has been a cultural touchstone since the original film debuted in theaters more than 45 years ago. Today, the Star Wars brand is still led by the ongoing movie series. Each Star Wars movie release stirs frantic buzz across the world, and with Disney+, that even extends to television now with series like The Mandalorian.

It seeps into video games, too, and although there are a lot of bad Star Wars games, recent ones like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor prove they can be good. Let's take a look at the best Star Wars games, ranging from third-person shooters to full-blown role-playing games.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the culmination of the series’ rocky gaming history

Jedi Cal Kestis.

I've played Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Coruscant heist opening multiple times at this point, and every time I play it, I can't help but think about what could've been with Star Wars 1313, the franchise's most infamous canceled game.
The idea of an Uncharted-like game about Boba Fett fighting throughout the Coruscant underworld is such an excellent pitch that I've grieved the loss of a game I never even had a chance to play for over a decade. Playing through Survivor's opening doesn't elicit feelings of disappointment about 1313, though. Instead, I feel happy that at least some fraction of that idea was able to be realized.

Survivor's Metroidanvia-like level design and Lightsaber-and-Force-based combat are much different than what was promised from 1313. However, the idea of cleverly climbing and fighting across a seedy-looking level of Coruscant during a heist was still realized. Reflecting on the lost project ahead of this year's Star Wars Day, I had a revelation about Respawn Entertainment's latest game. Despite technically being a sequel to just Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor feels like the culmination of over a decade of Star Wars games, both released and canceled, that came before.
A walk through Star Wars gaming history
Growing up, two of my favorite video games were the original Star Wars: Battlefront II and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. To this day, 2005's Battlefront II is my favorite game of all time, not only because of all the great memories that I had with it but also because it feels like an authentic Star Wars simulator where multiple eras, planets, and characters are preserved in incredible detail. Survivor feels like it has the same keen attention to detail.
Players may not visit as many planets as they do in Battlefront II, but each location in Survivor is densely packed with content and immaculately packed with detailed environments and characters that faithfully represent the High Republic, prequel, and Imperial eras. While the aesthetics feel as detailed as Battlefront, the gameplay fantasy pulls more from The Force Unleashed.

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All Stim upgrade locations in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Cal picking up a stim upgrade with BD.

Just like Fallen Order before it, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has many Souls-like elements. Outside of the general flow of combat, and the way Meditation Points work, Stims are essentially analogous to your Estus flas -- a limited healing resource that you can only replenish by resting. You will only start with a meager two Stims, leaving you with very little room for error even on low-difficulty settings. Thankfully, Stim Upgrades allow you to increase that number by one for each you manage to find. Given how powerful these are, you'll want to gather up as many as possible to ensure your survival in the galaxy far, far away. If The Force isn't so strong with you, allow us to guide you to all the Stim Upgrade locations in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

We will outline where to find each Stim organized by the planet they're on, so minor spoilers ahead if you haven't seen every planet in the game yet.
All Stim Upgrades on Coruscant
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