BioWare doing LucasArts game

By Robert Purchese Published 30 October, 2007

KOTOR duo reunited.

Mass Effect developer BioWare has officially announced a partnership with publisher LucasArts for a new "interactive entertainment product", GamesIndustry.biz reports.

The two companies have worked together before on the well-received Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic role-playing game for Xbox and PC.

"LucasArts has a deep commitment to developing compelling stories and characters for the unique medium of interactive entertainment, and we have been searching for a developer that shares this value," commented Jim Ward, president of LucasArts.

"Through are previous collaborations, we know that BioWare has an impressive ability to blend gripping stories with technological advancements, and we believe that our upcoming product will deliver an experience that will span the traditional boundaries of videogame entertainment."

Last month Electronic Arts acquired BioWare along with Pandemic Studios.

"The collaboration with LucasArts allows us to combine our passion for creating high quality and innovative experiences with those of a company dedicated to bringing only the finest games to market," added Greg Zeschuk, president of BioWare.

You can find out more by meeting GamesIndustry.biz in a dark Internet alley.

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About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Xerx3s #1 4 years ago

    LucasArts had a deep commitment to developing compelling stories and characters for the unique medium of interactive entertainment

  • crwoody #2 4 years ago

    Please lets have another KOTOR!!!!

  • Gurgeh #3 4 years ago

    Supposedly this is KOTOR online (as in MMOG)
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/07 @ 14:52

  • jachap #4 4 years ago

    Maybe it won't be about Star Wars.

  • dudefella #5 4 years ago

    woohoo, KOTOR MMO!

  • Triggerhappytel #6 4 years ago

    Despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I'd kind of prefer if this wasn't Star Wars, but a new franchise entirely.

    But then, this is LucasArts...

  • Nostromo13 #7 4 years ago

    imagine if they did a sam and max game…

  • Royal Fool #8 4 years ago

    LucasArts has a deep commitment to developing more Star Wars shovelware for the unique medium of interactive entertainment
    Edited by 2 at 30/10/07 @ 15:00

  • X201 #9 4 years ago

    Monkey Island 5
    DoTT 2
    Full Throttle 2

    Why would Lucas Arts want to cash in on crap games like those?



  • mkreku #10 4 years ago

    An Indiana Jones RPG..?

  • Fernando #11 4 years ago

    KOTOR MMORPG obviously

  • paulf #12 4 years ago

    KOTOR MMORPG has lots of potential, this is exciting news as long as EA keep their nose out

  • zoch #13 4 years ago

    I hope they make a kotor 3

  • thesnowman #14 4 years ago

    I really dont want a KOTOR MMO. I just want KOTOR 3

  • kangarootoo #15 4 years ago

    "Bioware = sellouts"

    That is what people say when they never find themselves in a position to "sell out".

  • crwoody #16 4 years ago

    no no no to MMO! single player all the way!

  • Bumhug360 #17 4 years ago

    Think Sony have the rights for mmog star wars games

  • J.C #18 4 years ago

    I really dont want a KOTOR MMO. I just want KOTOR 3
    +1.

    Not everyone is on Xbox live. im sure many people want a multiplayer online mode in the game, but single player is important as well.

  • Gurgeh #19 4 years ago

    Bioware announced some time ago it was working on a MMO. This new statement has Bioware working with Lucas Arts.

    "The game is being developed by the company’s Austin studio, formed in 2006 and headed by BioWare Creative Director James Ohlen, whose past credits include the first KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur Gate’s I and II"

    [link url=http://www.primotechnolo gy.com/2007/10/19/biowares-upcoming-mmo-based-in-kotor-unive rse/
    ]http://ww w.primotechnology.com/2007/10/1...[/link]

    This link speculates the game on running on X360 (if so Lucas Arts must be really pissed off at Sony over SWG)

    [link url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=16 2675
    ]http://ww w.computerandvideogames.com/art...[/link]

  • RexRunti #20 4 years ago

    Single player RPG please. Perhaps a post Return of the Jedi RPG as I'm not entirely sure where KOTOR could go from where it was unless they leave it a hundred years or so. Or they could set a Star Wars game between episodes 3 and 4, but that's Force Unleashed.

  • Tonka #21 4 years ago

    Indiana Jones RPG or bust mtfrs

  • JavaJawaUK #22 4 years ago

    Woo!

    Last time we had Bio working with LA we had the best Star Wars game this decade [so far]. Here's hoping.

  • GamesConnoisseur #23 4 years ago

    KOTOR 3 please! First was ahead of it time, second buggy and weaker but still a great game.

    KOTOR 3 on next gen (current gen whatever youcallit) possibly better realize the universe of Star Wars, but that would perhaps be a bit too close to Mass Effect wouldn't it?!

    All eyes would be on EA to ensure they properly preserve the great assets they have and not cashing in on the great brand name of Bioware.

    More interesting is that it is NOT EA that is annoucing the partnership! As they now owns Bioware but it is them who are making annoucement so perhaps a sign of a new 'hand free' approach and thus enabling acquired studioes to be distinct and have a form of autonomy, but the bulk of profits get to EA in return for a more secure jobs? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/07 @ 16:16

  • LonesomeRoad #24 4 years ago

    Anything Bioware: pure gold.

  • ccfb #25 4 years ago

    "spanning traditional boundaries" means sticking firmly within said boundaries ( a shooting section, a driving section, a talking bit, some cutscenes, an AI helper?). I think they meant to indicate they would "break through traditional boundaries" somehow (probably some new bump mapping technique, I hope!)

  • CouldntResist #26 4 years ago

    KOTOR 3 ffs. They never concluded the story.

  • Gurgeh #27 4 years ago

    "More interesting is that it is NOT EA that is annoucing the partnership! As they now owns Bioware but it is them who are making annoucement so perhaps a sign of a new 'hand free' approach and thus enabling acquired studioes to be distinct and have a form of autonomy, but the bulk of profits get to EA in return for a more secure jobs?"

    I think there's a bigger chance that Bioware has licensed Derek Smart's Battlecruiser series for KOTOR 3 than EA taking a hands-off approach.

  • spliffhead #28 4 years ago

    Erm this was news 9 months ago guys?

  • JavaJawaUK #29 4 years ago

    "KOTOR 3 on next gen (current gen whatever youcallit) possibly better realize the universe of Star Wars, but that would perhaps be a bit too close to Mass Effect wouldn't it?!"

    That's no bad thing - just means another stellar game and some more megabucks for Bio and LA.
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/07 @ 16:40

  • peanut80 #30 4 years ago

    I'm surprised they're going to do something else, when they've got Mass Effect 2 to start/complete yet. I don't think it'll be a Star Wars MMO as Lucasarts probably wouldn't want to license a competitor to Star Wars Galaxies.

    Then again, they might.

  • Hunam #31 4 years ago

    SWG is pretty much dead, and sony's problem.

  • Gnort #32 4 years ago

    "KOTOR 3 ffs. They never concluded the story."

    Uh, you are aware that Bioware didn't have anything to do with the story of KOTOR 2? It was made by the ex-Black Isle guys at Obsidian using Bioware's KOTOR engine.

  • silke #33 4 years ago

    "Anything Bioware: pure gold."

    *Looks at Jade Empire. Barely resists the urge to throw it out the window. Again.*

    However, what I really would like to see is a reunion with the Forgotten Realms.

    Baldur's Gate I and II, that's where you have your supposedly pure gold.

  • Xerx3s #34 4 years ago

    JE was very good for what it set out to do. A very entertaining game imo.

  • Lebowski #35 4 years ago

    It's a Howard the Duck MMO. ;-)

  • CouldntResist #36 4 years ago

    What exactly is your point Gnort.

  • dolphan #37 4 years ago

    BRING BACK REVAN!

    Ahem. Excuse me.

  • wa_uk #38 4 years ago

    "Through are previous collaborations..."

    Watch your grammar! Tisk.

    (shakes head, dies a little inside)
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/07 @ 18:56

  • Crea #39 4 years ago

    Bioware guys have been going around for a while doing various talks on MMO infrastructure at places like Austin GDC, and since they've never made an MMO in the past, it stands to reason that they currently have one in development. That, plus they've also made an announcement along those lines.

    So I'm guessing this is a KOTOR MMO, too.
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/07 @ 18:56

  • morriss #40 4 years ago

    Monkey Island 5?

    ;)

  • _Price_ #41 4 years ago

    No MMO. KotOR III.

    or Day of the Tentacle 2.

  • Macross #42 4 years ago

    @ silke

    i thought jade empire was awsome, its subjective.

    most of bioware's games are ace!

  • VMerken #43 4 years ago

    >Anything Bioware until now: pure gold.

    Fixed that. Now that EA slurped Bioware, I'll be very curious to see what will happen with future Bioware releases. Oh, weren't they going to do a Sonic RPG? Let's see what happens with that...

  • kangarootoo #44 4 years ago

    I rather liked JE too. The combat system crapped all over KOTOR's archaeic "turn based with running about" tomfoolery.

  • UncleLou #45 4 years ago

    Not particularly liked anything they did in the last years - not even Knights of the Old Republic, not Jade Empire, and most certainly not the single-player campaign in NWN1. They haven't made a really great game since the year 2000, but I know I am in a minority at least with regards to Kotor.

    And let's not even talk about Lucasarts.

  • NegativeZero #46 4 years ago

    @RexRunti: there is no way that an MMO set during the original trilogy would work. Galaxies showed us that quite clearly: most people want to be a Jedi, and the OT setting doesn't allow for lots of Jedi running around. You could cut everyone off from that but that would just doom the game. It's either got to be in the pre-history like KotOR, or it's got to be set further ahead in the expanded universe in the New Jedi Order or the like. KotOR is already established as a setting and has far more potential IMO.

    Personally, if Bioware were to do a Star Wars MMO, I would be first in line to check it out. That said I'd not be upset if they just did another offline MMO, especially if it had the Mass Effect conversation engine. I'm one of the minority who vastly preferred the writing in KotOR II - I just prefer Chris Avellone's style - however Bioware's stuff is great too.

    What I really wish is that they'd resurrect and reinvent Monkey Island, but the chances of that happening are minimal.

  • gsGaret #47 4 years ago

    I bet EA is making Bioware produce Kotor 3 and drop Mass effect (meaning Microsoft would need to find another developer for the sequels) If this turns out to be true I'm going to be disappointed because I can't Imagine another Kotor it is just going to be all hype no substance, hence max profits.

  • Gnort #48 4 years ago

    @CouldntResist

    My point is that the KOTOR storyline is no longer Bioware's, so they wouldn't feel any need to conclude it. Lucasarts should get Obsidian to work on it if they want the series closed off.

  • Hamflank #49 4 years ago

    A KOTOR MMORPG only seems logical now that BioWare not only has the quality to make a great MMORPG, but also the money with the recent acquisition by EA.

    My guess is KOTOR MMORPG will be EA's best shot at grabbing a piece of WoW's market.

    Quality + Star Wars License + Money + Publishing power = Secret formula to beat WoW?

  • RexRunti #50 4 years ago

    @NegativeZero

    I was actually refering to a single player game as a lost Jedi running from the empire sounds like a good premise for a game (even if it is reminisent of KOTOR 2), not that they could have universe changing endingss or anything though. Besides I'm too anti-social for MMOs anyway.

    As for KOTOR 2 I think every individual element was better than in KOTOR 1. However I still think KOTOR 1 is the better game for some reason. Also it had higher peaks and avoided some of the plot holes of KOTOR 2 (HK 47 factory clearly cut out and wierd jump to Malchor V without any real explanation).

  • RexRunti #51 4 years ago

    And oh. Just beacuse a Bioware is owned by EA (a publisher) doesn't mean they can't arange other publishing deals. Besides I'm pretty sure the Sonic and Mass Effect deals hold regardless of who now owns the company (I think Rare released a Star Fox game after it was bought by MS).

  • Hunam #52 4 years ago

    I think it might be down to KOTOR being a massive success and if you want to make a star wars game, LA have to be your publisher.

  • $olokid #53 3 years ago

    Please be KotOR, please be KotOR!!!