Electronic Arts' to be 'Exclusive' Developer of Star Wars Games

Electronic Arts has the 'exclusive' rights to develop and publish all future Star Wars games, in a major multi-year deal with Disney. The announcement follows news of Disney's closure of LucasArts.

In a statement released to the press, EA has suggested that its games will not be tie-ins to already-released or upcoming movies - rather, original expanded universe material. Disney, in turn, will retain the rights to create mobile and social games based on the franchise.

Studios listed by EA as those working on Star Wars titles include Bioware (which has already worked on the franchise with The Old Republic), DICE (Battlefield) and Visceral (Dead Space). It is likely that any future titles will use DICE's Frostbite Engine, as this has been the backbone to many recent EA games and will be the company's framework for future projects.

There is hope that Star Wars 1313 might be revived as a result of this deal, with our story on LucasArts' closure including reports that development "had ceased but that [LucasArts/Disney] was evaluating its options as regards having those games completed by an outside developer."

Via: IBT