‘Farmville’ maker Zynga partners with Disney on new Star Wars mobile game

San Francisco-based game maker Zynga has announced a multi-year partnership with Disney to develop a new Star Wars mobile game.

Disney hasn’t revealed any details about what kind of Star Wars game the Farmville creator will be making, outside of confirmation that it will be free-to-play.

However, the Disney agreement will provide Zynga with the option to develop a second Star Wars title, as well as operational control of Disney’s 2014 free-to-play strategy game Star Wars Commander. 

“Star Wars is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and has engaged generations of fans for decades. As game makers and moviegoers, we’re huge fans of Star Wars and are excited to create new experiences for players that bring this beloved brand to life,” said Frank Gibeau, Zynga CEO, in a press statement.

“The opportunity with Zynga is the latest step in our mobile games licensing strategy, which pairs Disney characters and stories with proven partners to create unique games for our fans,” added Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president of games and interactive experiences at Disney.

“Zynga’s expertise in developing successful games and running live services makes them an ideal partner and we look forward to further extending the Star Wars universe through these new experiences.”

The Zynga deal marks Disney’s second major Star Wars game licensing agreement, following the May 2013 signing of an exclusive multi-year partnership with Electronic Arts. Under the agreement, EA has become the sole publisher of Star Wars games aimed at core gamers on “all interactive platforms.” So far, EA has released two Star Wars Battlefront games, while several other titles are currently in development.

Casual or social games on mobile or the web are excluded from the EA deal, therefore leaving Disney open to form the recent partnership with Zynga.

Source: Zynga