Update: Over on the EA website, Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels, revealed that all the new games would be powered by the “Frostbite 3 development engine – guaranteeing incredible graphic fidelity, environments and characters.”
While he adds that they’re unable to talk about the projects they’re working on at the moment, Frank did say that “these imaginative teams (DICE, Visceral, BioWare) will make games that may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories.”
Original Story: After the shuttering of LucasArts back in April, the future of the Star Wars video game franchise was left up in the air. That has all changed today though, as Disney has announced that they have partnered with EA on a “new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines.”
The press release then goes on to note that EA is going to “develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres.”
Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels, talked a little bit about the agreement, detailing that DICE, Visceral, and BioWare are all going to work on Star Wars games:
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.
John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive, then added his pleasant thoughts:
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.
What do you think about EA handling all the Star Wars games for years to come? Does this bode well for the fate of Star Wars 1313? Let us know in the comments below.
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