The video game giant that gave us everything from Madden to Battlefield to Need for Speed is now also the video game giant Star Wars.
EA has secured an exclusive license to develop and publish Star Wars games, the company announced today. EA Studios DICE (Battlefield) and Visceral (Dead Space) will make new games in the popular sci-fi series, while BioWare (Star Wars: The Old Republic) will “continue” working on Star Wars games.
EA will develop and publish all games for the core gaming audience, while Disney will continue to milk the mobile, social, tablet and online cash cow.
Last month, Disney shut down LucasArts, the development studio that worked on “core” Star Wars games like Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault. Disney said at the time that it wanted to license Star Wars to external developers and publishers.
Rumors circulating around LucasArts in recent months suggested that EA would purchase the studio along with the Star Wars IP. These negotiations may have ultimately led to this exclusive contract.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” Disney Co-President John Pleasants said in a statement. “Collaborating with one of the world’s premier game developers will allow us to bring an amazing portfolio of new Star Wars titles to our fans around the world.”
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau in a press release. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”
EA-owned BioWare is the studio to which we owe the online studio Star Wars: The Old Republic and the role-playing game Knights of the Old Republic, perhaps the best Star Wars game of all time.
It’s not yet known whether EA will do anything with the two games LucasArts was working on before its closure, the Boba Fett-starring action-adventure Star Wars 1313 and the multiplayer shooter Star Wars: First Assault. EA responded to questions about this succinctly: “We are not announcing any specific titles at this time.”
If you’re wondering what’s happening with Indiana Jones and other LucasArts IPs, at least one thing is certain: EA will have nothing to do with it, because this deal relates exclusively to Star Wars.
LucasFilm confirmed this. “Regarding the other titles, no titles are being announced at this time but we are considering all of our options. The deal with EA is for the Star Wars franchise only.”
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