DICE opens new studio in Los Angeles to develop Star Wars games

Electronic Arts is all set to start work on new games in the Star Wars universe. According to Gamasutra , the studio handling the development of the Star Wars game – DICE – has started a new studio specifically to focus on the game. DICE General Manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson told the Wall Street Journal that the new studio will have around 60 members by the end of the year.

The new studio has opened in Los Angeles and Troedsson talked about the competition that it will be facing from other studios in the South California area, such as Activision’s Infinity Ward and Treyarch – both developers of Call of Duty games.

“There is an extreme talent pool over [there> that we want a part of,” he said. “It’s no secret that our main competitor is there.”

The next Star Wars game will be developed in Los Angeles

The new Star Wars games will be using DICE’s powerful and versatile Frostbite 3 engine, which is the same engine that powered Battlefield 3 and will be powering other games such as Battlefield 4, Dragon Age 3 and the next Mass Effect.

Disney and EA had announced their exclusive collaboration for games in the Star Wars universe earlier this month. According to a statement, EA will be developing games targetted towards a “core gaming audience”, while Disney will retain the right to develop titles for mobile devices, social platforms and online. Disney is aiming to make its money-losing interactive unit profitable this year and shifting some game development costs elsewhere should help.

Disney came to own the Star Wars IP when it bought Lucasfilm back in December for a hefty $4.06 million. The next movie in the franchise, so far only known as Star Wars: Episode VII, will be directed by JJ Abrams. Disney has said that new Star Wars movies will be released every year starting in 2015.