Lucasfilm eyes smaller studios for future Star Wars games

Future Star Wars games could come from studios few players would predict.

Douglas Reilly, the vice-president overseeing Lucasfilm Games, said working beyond the largest developers is part of the plan. His comments to The Game Business Show were reported on 19 October 2026 by Gamespot.

Big-budget shooters are staying put. Reilly said huge AAA games, the industry term for flagship titles built by large teams, like Battlefront will always be an essential part of the Star Wars strategy.

But AAA is not the only route. Reilly said Lucasfilm does not always require it and sometimes works with AA partners, mid-sized studios making games with smaller budgets. The focus, he said, is the experience and fantasy delivered.

Flexibility is the point. Reilly said Lucasfilm wants to be more flexible in choosing partners. Some future partner studios will surprise people.

He added Lucasfilm is not looking for a "top five publisher". It is looking for teams that can meet expectations for a high-quality title.

What makes this stand out is the breadth. Star Wars games have long been tied to large publishers. A wider net means different scales and styles.

Reilly oversees Lucasfilm's games and interactive business, a role he holds after joining the company in 2006 in Business and Legal. Lucasfilm previously announced a story-driven, open-world game from Ubisoft, announced on 13 January 2021. Open-world means players can roam a large map rather than follow a fixed path. The company has also announced new Star Wars titles with Electronic Arts, with Reilly saying at the time he was excited to continue working with the teams at Respawn.

The comments arrive while the shooter market is shifting. The Game Business reported, citing Ampere data, that Call of Duty's monthly player count was routinely around 40 million in 2024 and in the mid-20 million range in 2026.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launched 50% below the previous year's title in Europe. In the United States it finished 2025 at No. 5, the lowest ranking for the series since 2008's World at War. Battlefield 6 was the best-selling shooter of 2025, ending Call of Duty's reign dating back to the mid-2000s.

Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2022, Modern Warfare 3 in 2023, Black Ops 6 in 2024 and Black Ops 7 in 2025. PlayStation ports, versions adapted for Sony's console, of 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops and 2012's Black Ops 2 later helped return the franchise player count to the near 40 million mark, according to Ampere.

For players, this means scale is no longer the signal. A small team with the right idea can carry the Star Wars name.