Disney Exposed! EA FORCED to Cancel Star Wars Games 

EA: "We're one of the most hated companies in the world". Disney: "Hold my beer"

What’s crazy is Star Wars if handled properly could literally take over the gaming scene

Bruh between EA and Disney its a dark time for Star Wars. Palpatine would be proud 😂

Imagine if none of these games were cancelled we wouldve had another whole library of Star Wars games just like back in the 90s-2000s

I hate that Disney owns Star Wars

"I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further." - Bob Iger probably

We live in an age where being a fan of almost anything these days comes with a built-in high level of disappointment. It's so crazy. From movies, to shows, to video games, we as fans no longer get the joy of "looking forward to" something. It makes me cherish even more the memories I have from the 80s and 90s. Kids today have no idea what they missed out on...which might be a good thing?

The easiest decision of my short adult life was unsubscribing from Disney+. The hardest decision of my short adult life was turning my back on the slow, painful implosion of Star Wars under Disney’s mismanagement. And now this news with Disney and their predatory practices against VG studios to cope with profit losses from D+ and their streak of box office bombs. Another real tragedy.

Disney out here like, “I’m altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further” to basically everyone

if only DISNEY would get cancelled ... wouldn't that be grand.

I can't believe I'm in a moment in 2024 where I actually feel bad for EA.

Disney taking a chapter out of Games Workshop's book and refusing to make any good decisions ever again.

Battlefront II was just a microtransaction away from perfection. I would've been on board for a Battlefront III with a Battlefield-like all-out confrontation, ground to space maps. Instead they went to Fortnite. It's like COD ditching multi-platform for mobile.

“Impossible to see ... The Dark Side clouds everything.”

How can Disney just up the fee from 22% to 33% how is that legal? Did they not agree to a number when they signed a contract? And if so then how can Disney just breach the contract and increase the cost from 22% to 33%? This makes no sense.

I said it when we got those announcements not too long ago, You can never get your hopes up with Star Wars game announcements until the game is actually finished and releasing.

I wish I could say how crazy this is, but who can be surprised anymore

I'll never buy into an Epic game if that's how they're playing it. I have no faith in Disney's ability to figure out what fans will pay for.

I'm honestly surprised that stockholders haven't sued Disney for brand mismanagement at this point.

Game developer here: Disney licensing cut is huge(according to the Insomniac leak) so there's some validation to this rumor. The industry is hurting in general and Disney asking for more is totally within their ballpark

If Disney ruins Unreal Engine, I wonder how many amazing competitors with new engines will rise up. That would be exciting.

I could see the rest of the gaming industry blacklist Disney as a result of this.

Bob is basically Palpatine. Machinations to have more power but doesn't see the ewoks on Endor are gonna f up his shield preventing others from making stuff under the IP. The fans... we're the ewoks.

If true it's a very short term move. Disney is burning a LOT of bridges with this and they are going to be forced to do everything in house because no gaming studio is going to want to touch them after this

im so glad they cant touch SWTOR. im playing it for 12 years onwards. Expanded Universe is the best

Hasbro had similar issues with Disney and it shows when you see what toys they're forced to make and how badly the quality has dropped since around 2015.

George: i don trust other companies with my brand they'll mess the brand up Fandom: you already messed up the brand George: You have No IDEA 5-10 years Later Fandom: Uh Oh

In Germany, all the Hulu stuff is already merged into Disney+. It's called "Star" here.

I miss the days of LucasArts releasing 2 or 3 good games a year.

the only way I could see this going, is Disney creating their own gaming division, because if they didn't then I can't see any external developer working with them, especially if they can just change rates in pre-existing deals

EA: "That was never a condition of our agreement!" Disney: "I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further!" 💀

Seems like Disney is becoming a monopoly.

Disney has the most money out of any entertainment company and they have made what only 5 Star Wars games

I’m 37 and I grew up loving Disney, but I absolutely hate what it has become and its executives can eat shit for letting it happen.

Everytime I hear about Disney’s relationship with Epic, I am reminded that there is a fundamental piece of Star Wars lore, Sidious’s message to the Galaxy, that could exclusively be heard during a live service event on Fortnite. I think that hurt more than anything else, realizing that Disney had completely sold out and that Fortnite was the sole herald of the emperor’s return, cementing itself as a key part of the Star Wars mythos. Fortnite.

I recall the EA CEO, Andrew Wilson (I think), was not a big fan of the Star Wars exclusivity license. He wanted to do what they're now doing; focusing more on their own IPs. interesting how SWTOR has navigated the turmoil so far. That said, it's future comes across as hazy despite statements from Broadsword. Current expansion, Legacy of The Sith, is 2 yrs deep without much story progression, which is worrying to those of us who still play. Broadsword insist that development is still on going, despite a much smaller team, and more content is on the way. I take them at their word...for now. SWTOR is one of the few entertainment mediums that feels Star Wars, in my opinion.

When you hear news like this it really makes you want to just for once sit in on one of those Disney board meetings and while not participate but listen on the thought process of those there and try to figure out why they make some of the decisions they do

If EA thought they would make mega-bucks with the Mandalorian game, they would absolutely never cancel it. Of course it's Disney's fault, they are the ones that made Star Wars an unsellable brand.

If there were contracts signed, how could Iger just change the percentages? Wouldn't that break the deal? If so, there must have been some clause that allowed them to do so. Interesting nonetheless.

Merging D+ and Hulu would be a big brain move. It would look good on them. Cause having two streaming services with different pricing options just screams greed like most things nowadays.

1. Destroy your most prestigious IP. 2. Increase licensing costs for said IP. 3. Profit! Sounds good to me. 😅

Bob is turning into many of the characters of his ips. Dude is turning into Thunderbolt Ross.

Disney has really moved to full-on evil over the last few years. May their empire crumble. Perhaps, although I gag at the thought, EA and others should consider Rebel Moon games as an alterative?

Outside the US there is no Hulu. All the Hulu shows are thrown onto Disney Plus.

"i would never lie to you guys" honestly , out of all the youtubers, you are genuinely the only one i would ever believe say that. Appreciate it dude.

So Bob is officially acting as Emperor Paltpatine with Order 66!

I remember every one was mad when they thought Netflix was gonna add ads to their platform. I kid you not I got an ad on Disney plus trying to watch a movie. You think a company is bad and then Disney comes and takes a step further

Not a business guy - how does Disney just alter an agreement out of the blue

They've been using Unreal to do the CGI in most of their projects since the Mandalorian. It makes sense.

Love the background! Is that new?

EA : You said there'll be 22% of profit! Bob Iger : I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.

The thing that I don’t understand is, why is Star Wars outlaws not a create your own character style RPG? That seems like that would be one of the biggest appeals to that style of game is creating your own character and being able to take him throughout the galaxy massive L if you ask me.

This is what happened to tfu 3 as well and kotor 3

They really screwed up..especially with games like SWBF2 content being cancelled. Their loss fr.

Upping the fee is also a breach of contract, disney can't do that unilaterally. Unless the profit share is a completely separate deal and not set in the licensing agreement.

Disney: Destroy it all! Me: Time to go fight for democracy

That's why Ubisoft is charging an arm and a leg for a single player Star Wars bounty hunter game. Nice catch bro

I wish we could just crowd fund the buying of Star Wars from Disney 😭

"I am altering the deal, pray I do not alter it further." - Disney, probably

Bob Iger: “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further.”

Jar Jar Binks is 1 million times better then Disney. -Disney

Ill never forget when disney took away the marvel ultimate alliance current-gen bundle away from us!

You have NO IDEA how much I want Disney to go Completely Broke.

Holy crap!!!!! Damn you Lucas, you were the chosen one. It was said you would destroy the Sith not join them! bring balance to the video games, not leave it in darkness!!!

NGL hearing Disney+ was ending, and it was all moving to Hulu made me happy. Disney+ always gives me problems on desktop, and I could never figure out why. None of the other services, including Hulu, ever had the same problems.

I haven’t seen the contracts but as an attorney I find it hard to believe that there was a provision that allowed Disney the ability to unilaterally increase their licensing fees. Price is a huge part of any contract but that seems hard to believe. I don’t practice IP law so perhaps I’m missing something but it doesn’t seem likely one party would ever be allowed to increase their licensing fees with impunity.

7:53 "purple rain"😂🤣 Its called Heavy Rain

EA: "Yo Bob what the hell bro? Why did would you do that? Why are you changing the fees?" Bob Iger: "I am altering the deal, pray that I don't alter it any further!"

The thing I am noticing also, is that Disney keeps absorbing and merging like an overloaded tick....and a merger with You would seem plausible. The problem is there isn't enough creativity of vision, so I can envision a return to the bar old days where a lot of WE games are bad.

Star wars Force arena. Anyone who played this mobile game knows it was dope. I miss it so much. :'(

Running a billion dollar franchise into the ground isn’t good business sense. You’re giving Bob Iger far too much credit.

I don't get it how that Bob Iger can just immediately increase Disney's cut of games, without any recourse from EA? Surely, there would've been clauses in the contract that prevented Disney of being able to do this?

Purple Rain? Bruh it’s called Heavy Rain lol, fantastic experience

So EA is offended it has to pay more money after it got the licensing it bought already for a steep price? How could a company do that to it's customers?

No company or person became a billionaire without stepping on everybody else to get there.

Yo that background is awesome!

Man I also love purple rain as well. You know that company quantic sleeps is also my fav company as well.

Isn't altering a contract halfway through without consent of the other party illegal or something? or does that make too much sense to be US law?

The point about Unreal engine makes total sense. Remember, the images created for The Volume are made through the unreal engine. Disney couls produce a ton of stuff if they had full usage. Also, epic games is a better game studio for Disney IPs than the Disney gaming studio.

7:53 - They made Purple Rain That’s Prince 😂 It’s Heavy Rain

Interesting video and it makes sense. Looking at it from a gaming perspective for a moment, both EA and Sony made announcements of layoffs last week. Spider-Man developer: Insomniac announced layoffs, which was somewhat a surprise due to Spider-Man 2 selling well last year. There were also leaks the development for Spider-Man 2 had an insane budget. Assuming your source is accurate, what you're saying jives with what is being seen with Marvel IP in gaming as well. This may affect a future the Spider-Man games and the upcoming Wolverine game in some way along with any other gaming Disney IPs not being worked on by Epic.

Disney: Sees something Star Wars Also Disney: Ruins it

Another reason why I comfortably reside in the modding community for existing Star Wars games. Disney's piss poor handling of Star Wars is just pushing me further into Legends. Recently I found on Nexus Mods a model swapping mod that turns General Grievous into a fucking Rancor in SWBII (2017), it's amazingly goofy!

I can see how its a "clever" business move, but not a "good" one. The guy has zero integrity and back stagged the peoole he made deals with by trying to extort their profits to get them to cancel their project.

How can you up the feeling on a contract already negotiated? That sounds like breaking a contract.

I’m not surprised. Though ied have thought that the percentage of the profit would be part of preset deal that shouldn’t be able to be changed? Now that’s not to say that he couldn’t say that when they renegotiate the deal that he wouldn’t up the Disney cut by 11% on top of what is already in place.

Protect Cal Kestis at all costs

A good lawyer would state that Disney is doing this maliciously to get out of the contract.

In order to believe that Iger is as smart as you say, I would have to first see him do something that isn't already in the Wall Street CEO playbook. Bob doesn't have original ideas. Neither is he as smart as you think. He knows how to spend money (buy IP), cut costs, and raise prices.

I need to see the So Random version of Seth Meyers' Second Chance Theatre. It was fun to see the SNL actors perform their rejected sketches 15-20 years later.

Why are the fees not part of the contract? What kind of contract clause allows one side to unfairly bilk the other side?

What a shrewd move on Robert Iger's part. Everyone knew that it would take years to fix Bob Chapek's screwups and Iger is handling them well.

Of course he makes a move like that if you look at the recent earnings disclosure Star Wars is way down in memorabilia sales.

The exclusivity was already gone, Ubi is making outlaws

Disney acquiring star wars is one of the worst things to ever happen

The only thing diverse, equitable, and inclusive at Disney is how far they bend their customers and employees over.

People in suits trying to not screw up gaming challenge (impossible)

My favourite times to be a gamer BY FAR!!! Were when we were getting Lucas Arts games out the wazoo like 20 years ago, maybe as little as 15. Remember getting like 3 Star Wars games all in a single year???? Quality games like Empire At War, Jedi Academy, Battlefront 1+2. At that time, EA were already pigeonholed into publishing sports games sequels, it was already a very boring world for EA. Now they're doing the same thing to Star Wars, I am really not feeling it. I understand what Disney's mentality was with it. What videogames are making the most money? The ones with microtransactions and live service models. Who are experts at keeping a single franchise alive for decades, FIFA, Madden etc? Who are masters of microtransactions? EA. Their football team card packs make more money than any decent indie game does, ever, in a life time, just over Christmas. But doing this to Star Wars games just feels criminal. Like they had a chance to make a new Star Wars game renaissance era with some really incredible open world games. Hell, if they let other developers have a go, we could have all kinds of genres of Star Wars game now. Everything from your run of the mill shooting or space combat game, to massive life simulator style games, crafting survival games, hell even farming simulator style games like Stardew Valley. Who wouldn't want to play a game like that about running a moisture farm on Tattooine? Or a proper No Man's Sky style game based in the Star Wars universe? Fact of the matter is the people who make the important decisions on this stuff aren't even of a likemind to us. They just wanna make the most money. So they didn't ask these questions they just asked, how do we make the most money? And the first project they did with this in mind absolutely showed their intent and mindset on their sleeve. Just remake an older already existing game series, corporately block any other projects going on that resemble it, including decades in the works fan projects to make a BF3... lmao..... and riddle it with aggressive microtransactions and insane grinding requirements to unlock anything. Why did we even buy the sequel? Why do we even support this crap with our money?

I think the subscription for a combined hulu and Disney would be too much for some people and has the potential to lose a customer base because they made it more expensive when a lot of people are already struggling financially.

I'd like a Star Wars dueling game with a deep lightsaber fighting system. You create your own Jedi/Sith/Grey Jedi/ etc. and his/her lightsaber, you choose a starting fighting style and then after you play the tutorial you can duel with your friends or the AI in various maps from all over the movies and shows. Important is that the lightsaber gameplay has to be third person and with a decent learning curve. Force powers should be limited or even completely absent. Maybe force jump or force push/lighning. Something that can be deflected with a lightsaber. 1v1, 2v2 should be optimal with the chance to do fencing competitions online. Why developers didn't make a game like this is beyond logic.