"We all dream of being able to one day make a Star Wars game" How Ubisoft locked down the Star Wars license for Star Wars Outlaws
Ubisoft Massive's next AAA game all stemmed from a conversation at E3 2018
Star Wars Outlaws is looking to be an exciting new addition to Ubisoft and Massive's catalogue, but according to creative director Julian Gerighty, its existence stemmed from a single conversation at E3 2018.
Written up by gamesindustry.biz's Christopher Dring who interview Gerighty, the conversation took place in a nearby cafe to the Division 2 showcase at The Orpheum Theater. Ubisoft Massive's managing director - David Polfeldt - was there "chit-chatting" with Disney with hopes of establishing a business relationship between the companies.
Gerighty states to GI.biz, ""They had a shortlist of developers that they wanted to work with, and Massive happened to be on that list [...] David was very enthusiastic about that relationship, too." He continues, "I wasn't sure we were going to work on Star Wars. It could have been other Disney properties. But inside each one of us, we all dream of being able to one day make a Star Wars game. So that was the origin point."
Gerighty notes this sort of meeting was one of the main strengths of E3 - an event where all manner of game developers from major studios all meet up in one space. It's there that conversations like the one that led to Star Wars Outlaw's creation could happen spontaneously, and Dring notes in his piece that it was only a year later that a similar meeting resulting in a Pirates of the Caribbean crossover between Disney and Rare.
Gerighty states, "It's that concentration of everyone in the same place, rather than one person being at this end of town, and this person over at this end of town [...] I mourn E3 because we don't have these moments anymore."
In E3's place these days is Summer Game Fest, a similar event albeit at a smaller scale which takes place in Los Angeles in the same summer spot, not even 20 minutes from the Los Angeles Convention Centre where E3 took place. These sorts of talks surely do still take place, but perhaps at a lesser degree than ages past.
And they're important. As a result of this partnership and Star Wars Outlaws, Massive has been able to grow significantly and have one of the most anticipated AAA games under its belt as of writing. It goes to show, if nothing else, the power of networking and these big gaming events for the world of video game development.