In surprising news that's shaking both the gaming industry and the galaxy far, far away, Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment have been confirmed to be working on a Star Wars project. Considering that Electronic Arts was supposed to still have exclusive rights to the license, this move came as a shock. While EA still has Star Wars titles in the pipeline, the playing field has been widened significantly. While almost nothing is known about the upcoming narrative-driven, open-world title, Massive Entertainment's portfolio offers some clues as to what players can expect.

Massive Entertainment, one of the many studios under the Ubisoft umbrella, is best known for its work on The Division series. With two entries under its belt, The Division was one of the first major titles to stand up to Destiny's reign in the persistent online space. It combined squad-based third-person shooting with the framework of the loot-driven RPG, setting the experience in a post-apocalyptic New York. With Metacritic scores in the 80s, The Division games have been fairly well received entries in their space, even if rivals like Destiny 2 still control the narrative.

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Because of this, it's likely that Massive is developing a persistent multiplayer Star Wars game rather than a single-player focused experience. After all, you don't hire a team to make a game they aren't comfortable developing (especially with how many disparate studios Ubisoft has in its publishing stable); you hire for the skill set that will execute on your vision. If Disney and Star Wars wanted a single-player Western action-RPG, the Assassin's Creed team could've been hired just as easily. As such, a Valhalla-like adventure probably isn't what fans will get from this title.

That doesn't mean Massive will be working on a multiplayer-focused PvP title, though. This won't likely be Battlefront again. If anything, it'll be a PvE shooter driven by the loot and progression grind. Bearing this in mind, players hoping for a single-player experience aren't completely out of luck. If the same design philosophy of The Division informs this Star Wars game, it will be as playable solo as with a team. While the team-based gameplay of The Division is far stronger than the solo experience, Massive should be commended for its work to make the solo experience viable.

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Beyond speculating about the framework of the game, it's completely impossible to theorize about the specifics. What era the game may take place in or what faction it'll put the player in control of is unclear. That said, the scope of a persistent multiplayer game makes certain ideas less feasible.

For instance, while a Mandalorian game is at the forefront of most fans' minds, that wouldn't fit well in the context of a multiplayer game. The Mandalorian is a more solitary, explorative experience which is as interested in its quieter moments as its action set pieces. Considering Massive's experience with shooting gameplay, lightsaber combat is also unlikely.

As such, it's most likely that Massive's persistent multiplayer structure would be at home in a large-scale conflict. Massive could realistically draw upon the Clone Wars, Galactic Civil War or the First Order/Resistance War. The latter would be most interesting, as none of the modern Star Wars games have truly explored the sequel trilogy. Because of this, odds are that the events of the sequel trilogy could frame Massive's game.

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However, in the absence of concrete information, educated guesses and speculation are all the community has. Considering Massive's track record though, it's likely that the game's broadest design strokes will be fairly predictable. The studio rose to success off one formula and has remained relevant because of it. Lucasfilm Games is not going to take a proven quantity and flex it in a way that goes against its strengths. The question is the game's finer points, beyond the basic mechanical structure. For that, outside of eliminating what doesn't mesh with Massive's past, more information will be necessary.

Regardless of the shape the game takes, it's simply exciting to see Disney and Star Wars move beyond EA's stable. While narrative-driven, open-world Star Wars sounds like it could've been in BioWare's wheelhouse (at least from a single-player perspective) that team is clearly busy with Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Looking beyond the scope of EA's teams will only result in better experiences for fans at a faster rate. Hopefully, more information about Massive's title will be revealed before too long. After all, Lucasfilm Games seems to be only getting started.

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