DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise.
According to EA Labels president Frank Gibeau, three studios are already working on Star Wars games: Battlefield developer DICE, Dead Space developer Visceral and Mass Effect developer BioWare.“
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” Gibeau said. “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.”
In a blog post on EA's official site, Gibeau confirmed that the new projects will be powered by "the Frostbite 3 development engine – guaranteeing incredible graphic fidelity, environments and characters."“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the Star Wars franchise for years to come,” added Disney co-president 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.”
Specific financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Earlier this year, internal Star Wars development studio LucasArts laid off its staff, shifting to a licensing model and suspending announced projects including star Wars 1313.
Previously, EA published BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic. On its official site, EA added "we have lots of ideas, but we want to hear from you. Tell us what kind of games you want to play. Send us your suggestions and tag @EA_DICE @VisceralGames @BioWare and #starwarsnextgen." Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.