It appears that the Star Wars videogame
empire will rise again...under the EA banner. After appearing
temporarily collapsed when new overseers, Disney shut down the longstanding home-based developer/publisher, LucasArts last month, it has been announced that EA has signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the new Disney-sized Star Wars franchise to develop and publish games on a global basis.
Upon the announcement of LucasArts' demise,
Disney's proposed plan was to follow a license-based model. Indeed,
today's news fulfills that model with the monolithic company who has
published Star Wars titles in the past like the Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic RPG series and Star Wars: The Old Republic
MMORPG. With the developmental and publishing power of EA by Disney's
side on the prospective major titles, the empire of Mickey retains
rights to the smaller games targeted for phones and tablets.
As EA Labels President, Frank Gibeau muses on the official site:
"Today, The Walt Disney Company has
announced that they have chosen EA to create new Star Wars experiences
for gamers worldwide. The magic of Star Wars is interwoven into the
worlds, characters, planets and amazing battles. It is a universe that
lends itself perfectly to gaming. Our agreement unlocks a whole new
future of Star Wars games that will span consoles, PCs, tablets, mobile
and more."
Also notable, is that EA will retain the use of teams from its
labels, DICE, Visceral, and BioWare on the development of what should be
a steady array of Star Wars projects. So, while the fall of LucasArts
remains a sad sign of changing times, it may prove more symbolic than
substantive. As Gibeau comments on the developmental teams:
"These imaginative teams will make
games that may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely
original with all new stories. Powering it all will be the Frostbite 3
development engine – guaranteeing incredible graphic fidelity,
environments and characters."
It will certainly be interesting to see what EA has in store for Star
Wars fans, or if they may be so inclined to pick up the pieces of the
much-mythologized LucasArts shooter project, Star Wars 1313, which was indefinitely shelved by Disney. The specifics will surely be sprinkling in the coming weeks and months.
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