Ever since Disney shuttered former all-things-Star Wars publisher LucasArts in the wake of its purchase of Lucasfilm, we have been left wondering who would be tasked with resuming production on the world's supply of Star Wars video games. Now we know the answer.
EA has stepped up and Jedi mind-tricked Disney (or, more likely, paid handsomely) for the exclusive license for all Star Wars games in the "core games" category. This means Disney will still have the license to produce its own games in the mobile, tablet, and online gaming categories. However, if you want to make a major console, handheld, or PC game with the words "Star" and "Wars" in the title, you'd best be working for an EA studio.
It would extra help if you worked for DICE, Visceral Games, or BioWare, as EA's announcement of the deal specifically cites these studios as the ones tasked with bringing more Star Wars video games into the world. BioWare, of course, already has experience working with the Star Wars brand, producing the original Knights of the Old Republic RPG games (though only developing the first one internally), as well as the Old Republic MMO, which is perhaps most notable for costing EA an exceptional amount of money. On a possibly related note, financial terms for this deal were not disclosed.
"Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau. "Now, we own the exclusive rights to those dreams," he did not add, but I imagine he thought to himself at least once.
We'll bring you more on this deal as it becomes available.