Trademark not renewed in December 2013, leaving the game on hold indefinitely
Star Wars fans are disappointed after learning that the anticipated game, Star Wars 1313, has been abandoned by Disney. The game was being developed using the Unreal Engine 3, and was slated to take a more mature, dark direction that many believed was the correct way for the series to go. Multiple trailers and gameplay demos had already been released when the news was announced. Disney closed down LucasArts in April 2013, and ceased development of all their projects. This resulted in the layoff of the majority of LucasArts employees, leaving only about 10 people to keep the company open strictly as a licensor. Originally we were told that production would continue on Star Wars 1313, but clearly they have since changed that stance.
This is not the end for Star Wars games, however. EA announced at E3 2013 that they are working on a new addition to the Star Wars Battlefront series, being developed on their Frostbite 3 engine. This will be EA’s first entry as part of their exclusive deal with Disney to produce the Star Wars games:
“According to EA Labels president Frank Gibeau, three studios are already working on Star Wars games: Battlefield developer DICE, Dead Space developer Visceral and Mass Effect developer BioWare.”
It is rumored that these will be released starting in 2015, to coincide with the release of the new Star Wars movies being produced by Disney. Gamers are still in dismay however, as it can be assumed that we will not be seeing the gritty, dark, futuristic bounty hunter action that Star Wars 1313 would have provided. It is still possible that it will be picked up for distribution by another company, but until then, we will be left with whatever EA and Disney decide to give us.
Star Wars 1313