Highlights
- Disney sparks speculation of a new AAA Star Wars game after posting a job ad for an Associate Art Director – Franchise Creative, emphasizing “authentic world-class Star Wars experiences.”
- The job description suggests a shift toward in-house development, challenging the franchise’s long-standing external licensing model dominated by studios like Electronic Arts.
- The details imply that the project is meant to be a large-scale, high-budget, and cross-platform game, perhaps created internally or under strict Disney supervision.
Disney appears to be laying the groundwork for a new Star Wars video game. A job listing, recently posted on The Walt Disney Company's careers site, seeks an “Associate Art Director – Franchise Creative,” for overseeing “the most authentic world-class Star Wars experiences,” signaling that an internal project may be underway.
The job posting also hints that Disney is planning “to create something epic” that resonates with Disney’s brand identity. The posting also implies a high production standard and a strong emphasis on IP integrity and creative oversight.
Over the decades, Star Wars games have undergone several phases. Initially (1979-1993), games were produced under license across various developers. From 1993, LucasArts, the games-focused division of Lucasfilm, began producing a range of Star Wars titles: from space combat shooters like X-Wing and TIE Fighter to first-person shooters like Dark Forces.
However, after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, external studios like Electronic Arts (EA) held exclusive rights to produce major Star Wars titles. The new job posting suggests Disney may be re-evaluating this model and trying to take up the creative control of Star Wars video games instead of only licensing it out.
What Disney’s Job Posting Reveals
The job ad for “Associate Art Director – Franchise Creative” outlines several requirements and expectations: the candidate must have a minimum of seven years of experience in gaming, film, or television, with at least two years as a lead artist or art director. According to the description, the chosen candidate will be responsible for defining visual direction, guaranteeing IP integrity, and organizing creative cooperation across internal and external teams, like Lucasfilm Franchise & Story teams.
There is an emphasis on working for “critically acclaimed, AAA games on console and mobile,” which hints that the upcoming game is most likely to be a triple-A title, and can be a cross-platform game or target either console or mobile.
When considered collectively, these details imply that the project is meant to be a large-scale, high-budget game, perhaps created internally or under strict Disney supervision. Additionally, this job advertisement suggests a possible return to more regulated, first-party creation, since Star Wars video games have traditionally been created under license.
However, neither Disney nor Lucasfilm has made any official declaration about a Disney-produced upcoming game. GameSpot’s reporting suggests Disney’s creative team could be making Star Wars Total War, teased at The Game Awards 2025, even though the job posting did not reveal any working title for the project.
As of now, upcoming licensed projects such as Star Wars: Zero Company, Star Wars: Eclipse, Star Wars Jedi 3, and the like, are under development. The new creative team that The Walt Disney Company is hiring could also spearhead any of these upcoming projects instead of developing a new game entirely.
