Electronic Arts has closed Visceral Games, the studio founded in 1998 and known for titles such as Dead Space and Army of Two, and has postponed the current Star Wars project that was in development there indefinitely.
In a statement EA's Vice President Patrick Soderlund stated that concepts for the game were tested and feedback gathered throughout the development process to determine what players truly wanted. During this process, it became clear that players desired a return-to-the-point experience that could be enjoyed for a long time, necessitating a complete redesign.
More importantly, the game needs to be made accessible to a wider audience with more variations and Player Agency. This is where the Frostbite Engine comes into play, along with rethinking core elements to give players a Star Wars adventure they can explore even more deeply.
To achieve this, the decision was made to close Visceral Games Studio and transfer the project to EA Worldwide Studios, under the leadership of EA Vancouver, who had already been working on the project. At the same time, efforts are being made to redeploy as many employees as possible to other projects and teams within EA.
You can see the first leaked artwork for the Star Wars project here. View it again here.
