Disney’s recent acquisition of LucasFilm has started loads of rumors and speculation of how the company would handle the Star Wars franchise. In the gaming world, Star Wars has always had a special place, as it provided the perfect medium for exploring the expanded universe.
In a recent interview with Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, industry analysts were given the chance to discuss the future of Star Wars in video games. Iger stated that Disney is “likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console.” While the company currently has no plans to continue bringing Star Wars to console gamers, Iger made it clear that they would consider licensing deals for outside developers the chance to create console titles.
Unfortunately for gamers, the Star Wars franchise hasn’t seen very much success in the gaming industry lately, outside of BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. However, LucasArts, now owned by Disney, has been hard at work on a new title, Star Wars: 1313, which is set for release sometime in 2013. Unless of course, it gets scrapped by Disney, who now owns the development studio. According to a LucasArts representative, “for the time being, all projects are business as usual.”
Ultimately, the fate of Star Wars in the video game industry remains unknown. With the rise of social gaming, it’s no surprise that Disney would shift their focus to the mobile and PC market, but completely shunning console gaming comes as a bit of a shock. If Star Wars: 1313 proves to be successful, however, maybe Disney will continue to support the console market, but as of right now, it looks to be the final Star Wars console title.
Which Star Wars style game are you looking forward to? Console, or the direction Disney is going with their focus on social and mobile games? Let us know in the comment section below!
