Disney taps EA for Star Wars video games

One month after shuttering its newly acquired Lucasfilm's game publishing arm LucasArts, the Walt Disney Company is resurrecting "Star Wars" video games by tapping game publishing giant Electronic Arts.

 

Disney announced signing an exclusive deal with EA to develop and publish new games for the "Star Wars" franchise, Newsarama.com reported.

 

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” it quoted John Pleasants, co-president of Disney Interactive, as saying in a press release.

 

"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," he added.

 

It also quoted EA as saying the games may cover "consoles, PCs, tablets, mobile and more."

 

EA added in-house studios DICE and Visceral will develop new games using the Frostbite 3 engine.

 

Disney had shut down LucasArts shortly after getting the rights to "Star Wars" after acquiring Lucasfilm.

 

Disney bought Lucasfilm last October.

 

But gaming site GameInformer said the shuttering was not surprising, as LucasArts had "seemed directionless in recent years."

 

It said LucasArts' core business —games based on the "Star Wars" license had been "largely disappointing in both quality and sales."

 

While BioWare-developed "Star Wars: The Old Republic," co-published with Electronic Arts, got good reviews, it failed to maintain subscribers, it added.

 

On the other hand, LucasArts' "Indiana Jones" failed to make an impact in recent years, except for the "Traveller's Tales LEGO Indiana Jones" series, though it was not developed by LucasArts. — TJD, GMA News