In a recent report by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, it was revealed that Electronic Arts had cancelled development on its upcoming open world Star Wars title. The project was originally in the hands of Visceral Games and former Uncharted writer/director Amy Hennig as “Ragtag“. Unfortunately, it was cancelled, Visceral was shut down, and Hennig would leave the company.
The project was subsequently transferred over to EA Vancouver, and went from being a linear experience to an open world game. After speaking to sources close to the project, who revealed its cancellation, Schreier updated his report to include more details on why this happened. Apparently, the project was code-named “Orca“, and had players exploring numerous open world planets as a bounty hunter or scoundrel. They would also encounter different Star Wars factions and work with them. Needless to say, the project was still pretty early in development, and thus a long way off.
Because EA required something to ship earlier than Orca would, it cancelled the project in favour of a “smaller-scale” title, according to two sources. This project is slated for late 2020 right now, which could be just in time for the next generation of consoles to arrive (though Schreier admits that it could a bit sooner or a bit later). No one has been laid off following Orca’s cancellation, and some studio members are hopeful that it will be restarted once the new title is complete.
It’s not all completely dismal for Star Wars fans – Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is still coming this year – but it does create concern for EA’s handling of some projects. Time will tell if this new project actually becomes something or whether Orca comes back. In the meantime, Electronic Arts will probably make an official announcement about the cancellation soon, so stay tuned.
