Electronic Arts’ New ‘Star Wars’ Sequel Was Made in Record Time
The latest game in the storied sci-fi franchise blends Jedi customization, lightsaber combat and open-ended exploration
People play a Star Wars video game in Los Angeles.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, the latest release from Electronic Arts Inc., is something of a miracle in modern video-game development. It is entirely single player, has no microtransactions and was made during a pandemic in roughly three years — half the time it takes to produce many of today’s big games.
But Stig Asmussen, the director of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is quick to dismiss any suggestion that the game’s development was miraculous. “If anything, it’s a testament to the team,” Asmussen said in a recent interview, adding that it was easier to plan out the schedule because it was a sequel rather than an entirely new type of game. “And, to be fair, it was three-and-a-half years.”