The Walt Disney Company is preparing a new line of "Star Wars" video games, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
It has only been about a month since Disney closed the previous publisher, LucasArts, after buying the rights to the "Star Wars" films in October for $4.05 billion.
Disney made the announcement on Monday in partnership with Electronic Arts, Inc. The company plans to develop and publish new games based on the characters and storylines of the "Star Wars" franchise.
The company also plans to release a new "Star Wars" film for a 2013 release.
"This agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating quality game experiences that drive the popularity of the "Star Wars" franchise for years to come," John Pleasants, the co-president of Disney Interactive, said. "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."
Electronic Arts will develop and publish the new titles and has plans to increase development to develop interactive platforms and game genres. Disney will continue to retain rights to develop gaming titles for its own mobile, social, tablet and online game categories, though financial terms were not disclosed.
"Every developer dreams of creating games for the "Star Wars" universe," Frank Gibeau, the president of EA Labels, 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," continued Gibeau. "The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay."
"Star Wars" video games have been produced since the original films, when an Atari "Star Wars" game was released as a movie tie-in with "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1982.
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