A Ubisoft veteran has joined the Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic team

Art director Pascal Blanché, known for his work on several iconic Ubisoft projects, has announced he's joining Arcanaut Studios – the team behind Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. He shared the news on Bluesky, writing that he "started a new position as Studio Art Director at Arcanaut Studios" and "joined forces with Casey Hudson and his amazing team to work on the next epic Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic".

Blanché's resume is hard to argue with. Over the years he worked on the original Assassin's Creed, Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Far Cry: New Dawn – a mix of massive licensed properties and original franchises that maps pretty well onto what Arcanaut is taking on.

Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic was announced at The Game Awards and generated a lot of excitement – it's been a long time since we had a proper Star Wars RPG. Since then, there's been virtually no news, making Blanché's post the first real sign that development is actively moving forward.

The project is led by Casey Hudson, who previously created Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy.

Several other Star Wars games are also in the works: Respawn is developing Jedi 3 and Star Wars: Zero Company, Quantic Dream is working on Star Wars Eclipse, Saber is continuing the KOTOR remake, Amy Hennig is building an unannounced title with Skydance New Media, and Respawn may also have a Star Wars shooter in development.