EA has announced it has signed a multi-year exclusive publishing deal with The Walt Disney Company for the Star Wars franchise. The deal gives EA rights to create and publish games with the Star Wars license, although Disney will retain the rights to make Star Wars games within the social, mobile, tablet and online game categories.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come.” said co-president of Disney Interactive, John Pleasants. “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.”
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” EA Labels President Frank Gibeau added. “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.”
This is the first big deal Disney has made since acquiring the Star Wars franchise in October 2012. Last month Disney closed LucasArts and said they were planning to outsource development of Star Wars games.
(via VG247)