Publishing giant Electronic Arts has announced the closure of Visceral Games.
In a post on its website, EVP Patrick Söderlund wrote that the design of the studio’s Star Wars action-adventure title had to be ‘pivoted’, with Visceral being ramped down and closed in the process.
What Söderlund means by ‘pivot the design’ isn’t explicit, but based on other phrases such as “closely tracking fundamental shifts in the marketplace”, it’s safe to assume that this is being transitioned from a single-player experience to more of a games-as-a-service type model.
EA Vancouver is taking over development on the Star Wars project, which Söderlund says will be launching late in the publisher’s 2019 fiscal year.
Kotaku reports that the project was codenamed ‘Ragtag’, and EA executive producer Steve Anthony will be leading development on the project. Meanwhile, Polygon is reporting that Naughty Dog vet Amy Hennig, who was working on the title, is in talks with EA about “her next move”.
Visceral Games was founded as EA Redwood Shores back in 1998. It went on to work on one of most innovative survival horror games in recent memory in Dead Space, before moving to develop Battlefield Hardline.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected.
— Visceral Games (@VisceralGames) October 17, 2017