Posted Tue May 7, 2013 at 09:30 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
Life after LucasArts starts with DICE and Visceral.
After closing LucasArts, Disney has entered into a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement with Electronics Arts for 'Star Wars' games. Specifically, the agreement covers games intended for 'the core gaming audience,' which typically for EA means traditional multi-platform $60 games and their derivatives. Disney retains the ability to make and license out 'Star Wars' titles within the mobile, social, tablet, and online game categories.
From John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive, "This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come. 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."
Considering Disney's focus on the next 'Star Wars' trilogy as a jumping off point for an hitherto unseen amount of concurrent 'Star Wars' media, it follows that EA will be developing games that involve the new trilogy, however, the announcement was quick to mention "all new stories." Also of significance is the nature of EA's commitment to utilizing the license by placing 'Star Wars' in the hands of the publisher's top studios. Bioware's ongoing support of the 'Star Wars: The Old Republic' MMO is currently the closest thing to a AAA 'Star Wars' title in the marketplace.
From Frank Gibeau, EA Labels President, "Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe. 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."
Past 'Star Wars' projects that have captivated fans, but failed to be released include 'Star Wars 1313' and 'Battlefront 3.' With 'Battlefield' developer DICE and 'Dead Space' developer Visceral leading development of new 'Star Wars' titles, the games are not expected to come to the Wii U as EA has expressed a disinterest in bringing its proprietary engines to the Wii U without bringing its Origin client. Announcements of specific titles planned by EA may come at E3, and new 'Star Wars' titles can be expected to come to the PS4, PC, and Microsoft's new console.
Source: Star Wars
Author: Brian Hoss
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