New EA Studio Will Have "Creative Ownership" Over Rumored Star Wars RPG

The new EA developer formed by Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond, Motive Studios in Montreal, will have "creative ownership" over a large part of the company's upcoming, unannounced Star Wars game. Raymond revealed that detail and more as part of a new interview with Game Informer.

Motive is working on this project alongside Dead Space and Battlefield Hardline creator Visceral Games, which Raymond is overseeing as part of her new job.

Asked to specify how the workload would break down between the two studios, Raymond said Motive would play a major role in the game's development, but might be responsible for less than half of the work.

"It's going to be a significant portion," she said. "So the team at Motive has creative ownership over a significant portion of the game. [Creative director Amy Hennig, formerly of Naughty Dog, is] going to spend quite a bit of time in Montréal. But it's probably not quite 50 percent."

In addition to the new Star Wars game, rumored to be an open-world RPG along the lines of the canceled Star Wars 1313, Raymond will be spearheading development on a new IP. She said it's "a little bit too early" to talk about even the size and scope of this game, as the studio's current focus is almost entirely on Star Wars.

"That's going to be a big game, and we're doing a big portion at Visceral and a big portion at Motive," Raymond said. "That's a huge opportunity. I have a ton of great, talented people who are huge Star Wars fans who really want to work on that. We're going to be focusing on that first."

Raymond went on to say that she is currently assembling a team of "key" developers for the new IP, but wouldn't say if it was a larger-scale title in the vein of Assassin's Creed or Star Wars Battlefront, or something smaller and more experimental like Child of Light or Unravel.

"I think it's more about getting the right team that together will figure out the right thing to make than the idea itself," she said. "I think games are more driven by the talent."

In addition to the new Star Wars game, Visceral continues to work on Battlefield Hardline. She declined to offer any specifics about where the franchise might go next, but teased that the game has "interesting potential and opportunities."