Following Disney’s decision to shutter LucasArts last month, Star Wars fans were left wondering how the future of video games based on the franchise will look. Now, we know that they will be developed by one of the giants in the industry, Electronic Arts. Disney Interactive and Lucasfilm announced a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement with the company.
In a joint statement, Lucasfilm, Disney and EA announced that EA’s studio teams DICE, Visceral and BioWare will work on new Star Wars gams as part of the deal. DICE previously worked on the Star Wars: Battlefront series, while BioWare is known for its acclaimed work on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Visceral is the team behind the Dead Space series.
“Our number one objective was to find a developer who could consistently deliver our fans great Star Wars games for years to come,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said. “When we looked at the talent of the teams that EA was committing to our games and the quality of their vision for Star Wars, the choice was clear.”
Disney and Lucasfilm announced that LucasArts is no more in April. At the time, the company was working on Star Wars: 1313, a game many had been looking forward to. Yesterday's announcement did not mention the future of that game or any other specific title.
Since buying Lucasfilm in October 2012, Disney has cancelled The Clone Wars and announced Episode VII, which will be directed by J.J. Abrams.
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