Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment reveals more details about their upcoming Star Wars game, promising to deliver a story replete with new iconic characters.
The Division developers at Massive Entertainment have lofty ambitions for their new Star Wars game (to be fair, so did Visceral Games, and we know how that turned out). According to creative director Julian Gerighty, the studio wants to make an impactful experience that affects gamers for years to come. Whereas Respawn's goal with Jedi: Fallen Order was to deliver larger-than-life action-adventure, Massive's main goal is to unify a completely original story, unique characters, and powerful next-generation performance in one package.
"We want to bring both lifelong and new fans on an immersive and outstanding journey that will stick with them for years," Gerighty said. "We want to invite players on a journey they never experienced before in this beloved lore. First, we want to make it a unique game in the saga with a captivating story and set of characters that players can relate to and connect with. We want to take what is familiar and resonant about Star Wars and tell the stories of new characters who have their own motivations and stakes."
We don't know exactly when the game is set, but it's possible it'll take place during the new High Republic timeline. This is the golden age of the Jedi set in the height of the Galactic Republic, and it predates the Skywalker saga by some 400 years.
We predicted Massive's Star Wars game could be a live game set in the High Republic timeline.
The scope sounds decidedly cinematic even if it's set in an open-ended galactic sandbox.
Gerighty also says Massive Entertainment will push the boundaries with high-end next-gen graphics and in-game performance. While it's debatable which engine is better--DICE's Frostbite or Massive's Snowdrop--Ubisoft's team has made big innovations in the Snowdrop engine in preparation for its new Avatar game. These iterations and upgrades will also power the Star Wars game.
"Our amazing rendering will visually bring Star Wars to life in a way that no game has ever done before. With the launch of next generation consoles, Snowdrop's engineers are pushing the engine even further so that we can really make the most of the opportunities the new hardware provides.
"Second, and that's one of the reasons we were entrusted with this game, is to make the most of the technology to bring innovation to the gameplay and world building."