EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront ‘not directly tied’ to Episode VII

The release of Star Wars: Battlefront is not "directly tied" to the theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode VII, Electronic Arts has said.

Speaking during yesterday's earnings call, EA's Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund explained EA is building a game "more rooted in the traditional Star Wars universe and not so much necessarily linked to the movies being made."

"And that's just because we wanted to make a game that celebrated the history of Star Wars," he continued.

Although parts of the game will be "somewhat tied" to the new film, it isn't particularly tied to it. As a result, whatever happens during the development of the film — you know, with Harrison Ford's busted leg and all — won't necessarily impact the game. Suderland did say that EA would "prefer to be close" in terms of releasing alongisde the movie, but, again, reiterated that EA is not "directly tied to it."

Star Wars: Battlefront still doesn't have a release date, but with Battlefield: Hardline pushed back until "early 2015," I wouldn't expect the multiplayer shooter to launch until late 2015 at the earliest. Of course, with the film now being delayed to December 2015, the two seemingly lineup quite nicely now.

[Seeking Alpha]