Electronic Arts (EA) and Walt Disney have signed a multi-year licensing agreement that enables the video game publisher to develop games for mobile devices, PCs and consoles based on the ‘Star Wars’ movies.
The deal would also allow Disney to retain its rights to develop online and mobile games for its proprietary mobile, social, tablet and online game categories.
Under the agreement, EA studio teams DICE (Battlefield series) and Visceral (Dead Space series) will join BioWare (Mass Effect series, Star Wars: The Old Republic) for the development of new Star Wars games.
EA team will develop for the core Star Wars gaming audience, Disney Interactive will focus on developing new Star Wars games for casual audiences on mobile, social, tablet, and online gaming platforms, the companies said.
EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe.
"Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans," Gibeau said.
"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."
Disney, which owns interactive games division, had shut the 30-year-old LucasArts games studio in April 2013, which was inherited with the acquisition aimed at licensing its ‘Star Wars’ brand externally.
