Two Standout Star Wars Games Came From Indie Studios, and Lucasfilm Says It's Open to More Pitches

It has been a strong year for Star Wars games, and the two titles drawing the most praise are coming from smaller teams. Zero Company, an XCOM-style tactics game, and Galactic Racer, a high-speed racer in the spirit of Burnout, have both been highly rated and well loved by players. Neither was made by one of the large publishers that have handled recent Star Wars releases.

That contrast is hard to miss. Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws and EA's Star Wars Battlefront were both developed by major companies, and in recent years those large, expensive projects have been the default way the franchise reaches players. The independent successes suggest the license can work well with a wider range of studios and a wider range of genres.

Lucasfilm Games now says it is "more flexible" about who it takes pitches from, which suggests the shift may be deliberate. The statement is short on specifics. It does not say how many new projects the company is considering, what kinds of games it is looking for, or what terms it will offer outside developers. Even so, it is a notable change in tone for a publisher that has tended to work with a small group of established partners.

For players, the appeal is simple. Star Wars has a large fanbase and room for very different kinds of games, from squad-based strategy to arcade racing. If smaller teams keep getting the chance to pitch those ideas, the franchise could see more variety than the blockbuster model has delivered in recent years. Whether Lucasfilm follows through with more projects like these is the thing to watch.