Summary
Star Wars Eclipsehas been struggling since the moment it wasfirst announced at The Game Awardsin 2021.Fans immediately planned to boycottQuantic Dream’s game, and it hasfaced development trouble from the outset. Yet, as of last year, the studiowas still trying to push through. Now, there’s another problem: Adam Williams, the game’s lead writer (who also worked onDetroit: Become Human), has announced on LinkedIn thathe’s leaving the company to form his own studio.
Fromthe post, it seems like Williams left on good terms, which doesn’t necessarily indicate that the game is in more trouble than it was before. But it’s likely to throw a spanner in development, and the announcement has raised a lot of red flags amongStar Warsfans, many of whom were already hesitant about the idea of Quantic Dream so much as going near the IP.
Williams’ Departure From Quantic Dream Is A Huge Blow
If you’re familiar with the nature of game development at all, you know that a lead leaving a project without being replaced is pretty major. Leads have a lot of influence and ownership over projects, and Williams in particular is a close collaborator with Quantic Dream’s founder and CEO, David Cage, who also writes and directs the studio’s games. It’s a pretty major shakeup.
I’ve seen some people suggesting that writing could already be done, making Williams’ departure potentially not that big a deal – unfortunately, that’s wrong. Writers are usually involved in development all the way through, since games can change so drastically throughout the development process. I’ve also seen worries that the much maligned Cage will be taking over all writing duties, which from what I’ve gathered, is thankfully untrue.
From the job postings on Quantic Dream’s website, it’s apparent that the studio istrying to hire a new lead writerfor the game. Right now,youcould apply for the privilege of supporting Cage in his development of Star Wars Eclipse. Your responsibilities would include overseeing the direction of the project, writing scripts, and working closely with Cage and “other key stakeholders” on pitching, brainstorming, and iterations.
It doesn’t sound like Eclipse is anywhere close to being done and dusted on the writing end, which is to be expected, since weprobably won’t see the game until at least 2027. At the very least, we can see that Williams hasn’t been replaced yet, and it’s unclear when a new lead writer will be hired.
The posting also requests that “Giving and receiving constructive feedback has become natural to you, your [sic] never put your ego upfront [sic] and you know how to smooth things out to improve your partners [sic] work.” Sounds… professional.
Another spanner in the works is that, back in 2022, Quantic Dreamseemed to have trouble hiring new staff. That’s understandable, considering the allegations the studio has faced in the past – the company was sued in 2018 for fostering a toxic workplace, and Cage haspersonally been accused of sayingthe studio doesn’t “make games for fgs” and that all the female characters in his game are “whres”.
For what it’s worth, Cage categorically denied the allegations, sued a number of media companies for libel, and the studio won an appeal overturning a 2018 ruling in favour of an employee that sued it. A group of LGBTQIA+ employees from the company also releaseda statementsaying that the allegations were “hurtful” and “misleading”. It’s unclear what Quantic’s internal work culture is actually like, but even the perception of it being unhealthy is likely enough to deter potential hires.
It’s unclear if Quantic is still having issues with hiring.When I wrote about the game last year, there were about 100 job postings on the website – there are now about 50. That’s still a significant number of positions to fill, but thiscouldmean that Quantic is still growing according to plan. While fans are already saying that the game is doomed, it’s too early to write Eclipse off just yet, but it’s not looking good.
Star Wars Eclipse
Star Wars Eclipse was announced in late 2021 and is an upcoming video game from Quantic Dream and Lucasfilm Games that will be set in Star Wars' High Republic Era.The game will feature multiple playable characters and branching storylines.
