Epic Games has gained the services of the Star Wars Rogue Squadron director, Julian Eggebrecht. Eggebrecht co-founded Factor 5 Inc., the studio behind Rogue Squadron. The move is a return to popular game development for Eggebrecht, who has been had a diverse career working in online technology.
Eggebrecht’s LinkedIn reflects that the job change took place last month (January 2019) and lists his role as “Director, Online Technology at Epic Games.” Eggebrecht’s recent career experience has seen him working outside of games as a vice president at Disney-owned streaming service Hulu. The developer also worked with Factor 5 Inc. colleagues to found social gaming company TouchFactor and video service SmoothVOD.
Factor 5 Inc. was founded in 1988 with Julian Eggebrecht taking up the role as president. The company specialized in aerial combat games and gained significant popularity for its relationship with LucasArts. The collaboration spawned a trilogy of Star Wars Rogue Squadron titles, a series of space combat simulator games set in the Star Wars universe. Following the third Rogue Squadron game in 2003, the developer didn’t release a game until Lair in 2007. In Lair, the studio utilized their experience in aerial combat to create a game in which the player rode upon a dragon.
There is no confirmation regarding what titles the Star Wars Rogue Squadron director will be working on. It’s also not clear if his role as “Director of Online Technology” will see him utilize his experience of aerial combat titles. Possibly the role which stands out the most in Julian Eggebrecht’s resumé is as co-founder of Marin Munchies, a company which sells ethically-sourced chocolate bars. This probably isn’t related to the Epic Games project, however!
Fans of Star Wars video games have been on a wild ride as of late. From the controversial Star Wars Battlefront reboot to the canceling of Amy Hennig’s third-person Star Wars title. Hennig recently discussed the canceled game in more depth.
