It should be no surprise thatStar Warsis essentially a cash printing machine at this point. The franchise, a cultural staple since the release ofA New Hope, is not going anywhere any time soon. EA certainly isn’t saying goodbye toStar Wars, considering that the franchise has made the company over $3 billion since acquiring exclusivity rights in 2012.
While EA certainly doesn’t depend onStar Warsto stay afloat, the franchise certainly doesn’t hurt. The massive revenue that the franchise has pulled in was revealed in the latest quarterlyEA earnings call. Mike Hickey, an analyst at The Benchmark Company asked about the Star Wars license and its exclusivity. In response, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said “You should expect us to continue to invest in ourStar Warsrelationship. It’s been very profitable, to this point, over $3 billion in net bookings, and we’re excited by what we’ll be able to do in the future.”
The relationship between EA and the landmark franchise will be changing in the future though. The decade-long exclusivity deal signed between EA and Disney is coming to an end, other companies are already lining up to make their ownStar Warstitles. Notably,Ubisoft is moving in on the propertyand is set to develop its own open-worldStar Warstitle. However, details on that game, such as a release date, name, or platforms, have not been released.
That’s not to say that EA is done with theStar Warsfranchise. The company has found extreme success in it, and won’t be shying away any time soon. TheStar Wars: Battlefront,Star Wars: Squadrons, andStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Ordergames have all been massive successes. EvenStar Wars: Galaxy of Heroeshas made over $1 billion for the massive publishing company. While it’s not currently clear how EA will continue to capitalize on the franchise, it’s not too far fetched to think that we’ll be getting more games set in a galaxy far, far away this year.
