Respawn Entertainment, the developer behind 2014’s Titanfall, is working on a Star Wars video game for publisher EA. The announcement came via a post on Respawn’s website from Stig Asmussen, the team’s recently-instated Director, best known for his work on the God of War franchise.
Respawn’s upcoming game — a third-person action-adventure title — is the latest Star Wars title to be announced by EA. Visceral Games, Capital Games, Motive, BioWare, and DICE are also all developing games that take place in the Star Wars universe as part of EA’s deal with Disney.
The post itself is brimming with enthusiasm — it’s obvious that Asmussen is a huge Star Wars fan who wants to make a game that lives up to the franchise’s towering reputation:
[Respawn Entertainment] promises to pay respect to the Star Wars legacy at all times, a fact that will be constantly reinforced and honored as a central game design tenet. Fans should expect the exemplary level of quality first established at Respawn with Titanfall, a game that epitomizes our studio’s dedication to slick, larger-than-life action and fun, groundbreaking mechanics. Moving forward, we couldn’t ask for a better universe in which to continue this journey, and although I would love to share all of the exciting places we are going…
Patrick Söderlund, the Executive Vice President of EA Studios, posted a blog on EA.com announcing the project. He expressed high hopes for Respawn’s take on the Star Wars brand, speaking to the studio’s success with Titanfall and Asmussen’s game design pedigree. From that post:
“Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Vince Zampella and his group. Their obsession with making games that feel amazing has helped make Titanfall one of the most successful new game launches of this generation. And now, with a new team led by Stig Asmussen, we get to see what they can do when you combine that great attention to gameplay with the power of Star Wars.”
Titanfall is one of my favorite games from the current generation, and Respawn’s founders Jason West and Vince Zampella were the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise at Infinity Ward. I’m excited to see not only what Respawn Entertainment can do with Star Wars, but what they can do with a third-person action game, since their pedigree has been first-person shooters. Asmussen’s experience working on the fantastic God of War franchise makes him the perfect director for a game like this.
Who knows — they might just resuscitate Star Wars: 1313, the promising looking shooter rendered defunct with LucasArts‘ closure in 2013.
Only time will tell!