Jump to content

News about future of the IP


Tashia

Recommended Posts

Sky's not falling (rising?) yet...

 

From here:

 

An EA representative said in a statement provided to Ars Technica, "We are proud of our long-standing collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, which will continue for years to come. Our talented teams have created some of the most successful games in the history of the Star Wars franchise, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars: Battlefront and Battlefront II, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and Star Wars: Squadrons. We love Star Wars, and we look forward to creating more exciting experiences for players to enjoy."

 

...but didn't see SWTOR mentioned above.

 

Also, Ubisoft's open-world venture, while it might very well wind up to be AAA title of a game, doesn't mean it's an MMO, so until there's another Star Wars MMO announced, I'm not sweating it.

Edited by xordevoreaux
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to be honest, as much as I love this game (mostly), it hasn't had the resources or attention it deserves since EA gutted Bioware's SWTOR team to work on Anthem all those years ago, and as far as I know, those resources weren't returned when Anthem fell on its face. I'd therefore love to see EA lose ownership of this game to a newer, better resourced studio to take things over. Whether that means improving on this game (which is doubtful given the architecture limitations), or closing this one down in favor of a SWTOR 2.0, I think it would be a very positive change.

 

But if this game is making any money, EA won't let it go unless Disney forces the licensing issue. And I think an even bigger question would be, which other studio would get it?

Edited by Mournblood
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But if this game is making any money, EA won't let it go unless Disney forces the licensing issue. And I think an even bigger question would be, which other studio would get it?

 

Disney cannot force the licensing issue for this game, because the deal was made before Disney came into the picture. There are really only three reasons for the cancelation of SWTOR:

 

1. The game does not make enough money anymore for EA.

2. EA and Disney are deciding to do a new Star Wars Mmorpg.

3. Disney is deciding to contract another studio with a Star Wars Mmorpg and it will suck up most of the player base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Daybreak has been bought out by a Swedish firm.

 

they still could make a new one if they wished; as any company could; it is called "competition" and that is always good .. so did the Russian holding company that bought SOE finally give the company up ? ( we never hear anything about sales -- no one ever tells the players anything) -- that has got to be an improvement

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disney cannot force the licensing issue for this game, because the deal was made before Disney came into the picture. There are really only three reasons for the cancelation of SWTOR:

 

1. The game does not make enough money anymore for EA.

2. EA and Disney are deciding to do a new Star Wars Mmorpg.

3. Disney is deciding to contract another studio with a Star Wars Mmorpg and it will suck up most of the player base.

 

The current licensing deal will eventually expire in 2023 and come up for renewal, at which point Disney, not LucasArts, will make the decision whether or not to renew it with EA. That's all I meant. And when that time comes, if I were a Disney exec making the decision, I would absolutely give it to someone else who's going to give it the love and attention it deserves instead of letting it languish on the backburner while the studio prioritizes other development projects, as EA has directed Bioware to do with this one.

 

There's also the possibility, if you believe the rumors about EA's current CEO, that EA may not want the license any longer, as cited in this article from early last year.

Edited by Mournblood
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The current licensing deal will eventually expire in 2023 and come up for renewal, at which point Disney, not LucasArts, will make the decision whether or not to renew it with EA. That's all I meant.

 

You are talking about the exclusivity deal between Disney and EA to make new Star Wars games, not about the license deal for this game that has been in place before Disney came on board.

Edited by Phazonfreak
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The current licensing deal will eventually expire in 2023 and come up for renewal, at which point Disney, not LucasArts, will make the decision whether or not to renew it with EA. That's all I meant. And when that time comes, if I were a Disney exec making the decision, I would absolutely give it to someone else who's going to give it the love and attention it deserves instead of letting it languish on the backburner while the studio prioritizes other development projects, as EA has directed Bioware to do with this one.

 

There's also the possibility, if you believe the rumors about EA's current CEO, that EA may not want the license any longer, as cited in this article from early last year.

 

SWTOR is still EAs, they cant just give it to another company, thats not how it works. EA would have to agree to selling it, otherwise the only 2 choices are recontract to EA or close it down

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SWTOR is still EAs, they cant just give it to another company, thats not how it works. EA would have to agree to selling it, otherwise the only 2 choices are recontract to EA or close it down

 

I really don't want to get into pointless arguments on the forums, but this isn't completely true. Yes, the game itself, SWTOR, belongs to Bioware/EA, but the license that permits them to use the IP belongs to Disney. If Disney decides to give that license to another studio/publisher in 2023, SWTOR will be shut down. Who owns the actual game is moot because it can't exist without the license agreement to use the IP.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really don't want to get into pointless arguments on the forums, but this isn't completely true. Yes, the game itself, SWTOR, belongs to Bioware/EA, but the license that permits them to use the IP belongs to Disney. If Disney decides to give that license to another studio/publisher in 2023, SWTOR will be shut down. Who owns the actual game is moot because it can't exist without the license agreement to use the IP.

 

Truth.

Disney's total revocation of EA's intellectual property license for the Star Wars franchise, were that to occur, would immediately end SWTOR.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are talking about the exclusivity deal between Disney and EA to make new Star Wars games, not about the license deal for this game that has been in place before Disney came on board.

 

You are correct that when people reference the 2023 date that what they are really talking about is the Disney-EA exclusivity deal. The exclusivity deal between EA and Disney was struck in 2013 and gave EA a 10 year license to exclusively produce Star Wars games. The recent announcement that EA has lost their exclusivity deal does not necessarily mean that any studio can immediately release a Star Wars game. More than likely the exclusivity deal is still in place, and will remain in place until 2023, but Disney has informed EA that they will not be renewing that deal, which is why Ubisoft is able to work on a Star Wars title that will likely not be released until after the 2023 expiration date for the exclusivity deal.

 

The deal that was struck between LucasFilm (or LucasArts) with BW to produce ST:TOR is a separate entity and not a part of that Disney-EA exclusivity deal as it existed prior to Disney acquiring the franchise. Whether it existed prior to EA acquiring BW is unknown as that occurred in 2007 and the game was announced in 2008. It has been said that the development time was approximately five years so more than likely the licensing deal for the game was struck prior to EA's involvement with BW (it was said in 2008 that the writers had been working on the game for more than 2 years at that point). The expiration of the exclusivity deal between Disney and EA will not necessarily affect the license for SW:TOR, but we do not know the length of the SW:TOR license, either.

 

Regardless, when it comes time to review and possibly renew the licensing agreement for SW:TOR it will be done under the auspices of Disney regardless of whether LucasFilm/Arts originally struck the deal.

 

The important point is that the 2023 expiration is not the date for SW:TOR's license but the date for EA's exclusive deal with Disney. SW:TOR's licensing terms are a different entity and the length of that license is unknown (unless someone can provide an official link). The only way that 2023 means anything for SW:TOR's license is if the game has a 12 year license that started counting down when the game was launched in 2011, or if the game has a 17 year license that started counting down during development (if development did take five years and started in 2006). Being that BW already had a licensing deal with LucasFilm/Arts when they made KotOR1 it is even possible that SW:TOR's license falls under that agreement.

 

tl:dr

We do not know the terms of SW:TOR's license and it is not part of the 10-year (2013-2023) exclusivity deal between Disney and EA as SW:TOR's license predates that exclusivity deal. Termination of the exclusivity deal between Disney and EA does not mean that SW:TOR's license is expiring anytime soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are correct that when people reference the 2023 date that what they are really talking about is the Disney-EA exclusivity deal. The exclusivity deal between EA and Disney was struck in 2013 and gave EA a 10 year license to exclusively produce Star Wars games. The recent announcement that EA has lost their exclusivity deal does not necessarily mean that any studio can immediately release a Star Wars game. More than likely the exclusivity deal is still in place, and will remain in place until 2023, but Disney has informed EA that they will not be renewing that deal, which is why Ubisoft is able to work on a Star Wars title that will likely not be released until after the 2023 expiration date for the exclusivity deal.

 

The deal that was struck between LucasFilm (or LucasArts) with BW to produce ST:TOR is a separate entity and not a part of that Disney-EA exclusivity deal as it existed prior to Disney acquiring the franchise. Whether it existed prior to EA acquiring BW is unknown as that occurred in 2007 and the game was announced in 2008. It has been said that the development time was approximately five years so more than likely the licensing deal for the game was struck prior to EA's involvement with BW (it was said in 2008 that the writers had been working on the game for more than 2 years at that point). The expiration of the exclusivity deal between Disney and EA will not necessarily affect the license for SW:TOR, but we do not know the length of the SW:TOR license, either.

 

Regardless, when it comes time to review and possibly renew the licensing agreement for SW:TOR it will be done under the auspices of Disney regardless of whether LucasFilm/Arts originally struck the deal.

 

The important point is that the 2023 expiration is not the date for SW:TOR's license but the date for EA's exclusive deal with Disney. SW:TOR's licensing terms are a different entity and the length of that license is unknown (unless someone can provide an official link). The only way that 2023 means anything for SW:TOR's license is if the game has a 12 year license that started counting down when the game was launched in 2011, or if the game has a 17 year license that started counting down during development (if development did take five years and started in 2006). Being that BW already had a licensing deal with LucasFilm/Arts when they made KotOR1 it is even possible that SW:TOR's license falls under that agreement.

 

tl:dr

We do not know the terms of SW:TOR's license and it is not part of the 10-year (2013-2023) exclusivity deal between Disney and EA as SW:TOR's license predates that exclusivity deal. Termination of the exclusivity deal between Disney and EA does not mean that SW:TOR's license is expiring anytime soon.

 

It also doesn't mean that EA can never make another Star Wars game. It just means that there will be competition for Star Wars games and honestly, EA needs a kick in the ***. SWTOR can be a really great game if they put all the money they make on the game back into the game instead of spending it on other games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It also doesn't mean that EA can never make another Star Wars game. It just means that there will be competition for Star Wars games and honestly, EA needs a kick in the ***. SWTOR can be a really great game if they put all the money they make on the game back into the game instead of spending it on other games.

 

The announcement that was made even said that.

 

https://www.starwars.com/news/lucasfilm-games-interview

“We’re really proud of the games we have created with EA,” Reilly says. “We will continue working with them and our relationship has never been stronger. While we may not have a lot of details to share at the moment, we’ve got a number of projects underway with the talented teams at EA.”
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really don't want to get into pointless arguments on the forums, but this isn't completely true. Yes, the game itself, SWTOR, belongs to Bioware/EA, but the license that permits them to use the IP belongs to Disney. If Disney decides to give that license to another studio/publisher in 2023, SWTOR will be shut down. Who owns the actual game is moot because it can't exist without the license agreement to use the IP.

 

If you read what I said you will see that it's basically the same thing.

Besides, Disney isn't exclusive contracting once the EA contracts done, so they can have anyone doing games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
×
×
  • Create New...