Ever wondered who’s going to make Star Wars games now that LucasArts is no more? The answer is EA, as the North American firm has entered a multi-year arrangement with rights holder Disney to develop and publish titles for the “core gaming market” based on the uber-popular franchise. These releases will supposedly span “the most popular genres”, and will include "all new stories and gameplay".
"While we don't have any details to share today on specific titles, our development teams are already brimming with design ideas," said a beaming Frank Gibeau, president of EA Labels. "The EA Studios that will develop these games are some of the most innovative and popular creative teams in the world, and include DICE and Visceral, in addition to the BioWare team, which is already developing for the Star Wars franchise."
Disney will continue to produce titles for the smartphone and online market, leaving EA to deal specifically with platforms such as the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. “This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” said Disney Interactive’s co-president John Pleasants. “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.”
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. We guess that Dead Space is definitely done now, though, huh?
[source news.ea.com, via ea.com]
Comments 18
Out of curiosity, would they be given access to the supposedly basically finished Battlefront game? Where does something like that fit in when someone like Disney buys LucasArts?
@Squiggle55 It's too early to say. Judging from the press information, though, it sounds very much like EA has new games in mind.
I hope that they release Battlefront 3 I don't know anything about Star Wars but I still really enjoy the multiplayer of those games.
On the subject of BioWare, I'm worried they might get lumped with too many projects. I know they've got a far bigger team now made of multiple studios, but they're already working on Dragon Age 3 and the next Mass Effect, in addition to other things we've heard little about. The last thing they need is even less time to work on franchises that have taken a bit of a tumble in terms of reputation.
@ShogunRok - Mass Effect should be top priority. I'm still fully behind BioWare and the Mass Effect series regardless of what others thought of the 3rd game.
@Splat I fully agree - even after three games I still think the franchise has massive potential. I just hope EA don't force them to rush development because they need to start pumping out Star Wars games. This goes for DICE and Visceral, too.
Just give me 1313 and I'll be satisfied.
The good news is EA has some good development teams to work on these games. The bad news is, it's EA. Can't wait to see what asinine crap they pull with this franchise.
Oh no, not EA.
@Splat Apart from the confusing ending, I think ME3 was worlds away the best one. It mostly just got a bad rep.
As long as I can decapitate JarJar with a lightsaber or blast a Ewok in their ugly smashed up faces I'm cool with this.
@JayArr rofl that's so true; some old SW games had dismemberment as a doodad. The good old days, I suppose. I'm excited to see some new titles, tho! LucasArts lives.
If they get Dice to make Battlefront 3 (or the same thing under a diffrent name) I would be very happy indeed
i wonder if they will be willing to finish 1313?
and make a KotOR 3
of course it all depends on what kind of freedom Disney give them and while i don't like EA as a company the fact is they have made some good games and i don't see how they can make anything worse than Star Wars Kinect
second post: also i wonder if we will get a Force Unleashed 3 to end that cliffhanger of a story i or is TFU2 no longer part of the Star Wars canon i know that TFU1 is part of the series
My expectations are very low, which I hope means I will be pleasantly surprised.
@Hetsumani I'm with you! How many micro transactions will we have to make in the Star Wars universe? Time will tell..
Screw ea, will definitely not buy there game, ea also said that they didn't want the ghost buster game because they couldn't do a yearly release with it, yeah ea, that's what gamers want from a crappy developer,a yearly release of the same game, go f_;k yourselves
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