Almost all future Star Wars games will be developed by EA studios thanks to a new multi-year agreement with Disney.
With Lucasarts completely disbanded, EA have now picked up the lucrative franchise and will take Star Wars into the next generation.
This, of course, presents some interesting gaming scenarios. Current EA studios include DICE, Visceral, and of course, Bioware. EA recently released Star Wars: The Old Republic so this is a logical choice, but as we all know, Bioware have previously developed two Knights of the Old Republic games.
It’s not a real surprise as EA were already developing Star Wars games, but it does create some interesting possibilities, especially if it means we get another Star Wars RPG.
Disney have retained the rights to producing some Star Wars titles on mobile, social, online and tablet spaces but EA have the bulk of them
Between this and news on a new trilogy, the future seems incredibly bright for the franchise even though it’s out of the hands of its creator.
It has also been confirmed that future Star Wars titles will be developed using the brand new Frostbite 3 engine which powers Dragon Age 3, the next Mass Effect and, of course, Battlefield 4. Interestingly, this may omit future Star Wars titles from coming to Wii U as EA have revealed the engine is currently unsupported by the format.
Future Star Wars titles have also been confirmed to be original, and while they will borrow elements from the films, they’ll be unique stories and not film cash-ins.
Here are some comments from Disney
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” said John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive. “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.”
EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau added: “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.”
(Disney comments via MCV)