EA announced today that it has signed an exclusive deal with Disney to be the sole publisher of Star Wars games for the foreseeable future. The exclusivity deal only covers games targeting a core gamer audience with Disney’s own mobile division overseeing all casual and mobile titles.

“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels president Frank Gibeau in a statement. “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. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”

The three above mentioned studios should make Star Wars fans giddy with glee. All three are respected developers with a proven track record so any Star Wars games out of them should be good. DICE may even finally finish Battlefront III – a game many have been requesting for years now.

As for BioWare, a Star Wars game made by the core team could potentially be exciting as the studio also made Knights of the Old Republic – a title many consider to be the best Star Wars game ever made. Some may be hesitant of such a title, however, especially after BioWare’s The Old Republic failed to live up to the hype. The MMO was made by BioWare Austin, though, so some may be willing to give the main BioWare studio a chance, especially if its Star Wars game is similar to its recent Mass Effect trilogy.

[h/t: Kotaku]

In April, the team at BioWare Austin added a number of features and items to the game. Some were microtransactions meant to give players more options in customization, but the real treat will be coming next month in the form of new character customization options. Players will soon be able to change their physical appearance and even their race.

The guys at BioWare are not in an enviable position right now. They have to keep EA and the new overlords at Disney happy. Both companies are currently in the process of killing off studios and games. “>The Old Republic may be next on the chopping block if it doesn’t pick up some steam.

Reckoning will be released on February 26 and be free to download for one year. The content will offer new multiplayer characters, weapons, and upgrades.

Citadel will be released on March 5 and will cost $15 or 1200 Microsoft Points. EA‘s announcement stated that it will feature new single-player campaign content in which players will explore a “deep-space station” while “having the opportunity to reconnect with some of their favorite characters from all three of the Mass Effect games.”

“The team has poured heart and soul into Mass Effect 3: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3: Citadel,” said Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series. “As the launch of these chapters near, the feeling around the studio is bittersweet. We have always been humbled and driven by the passion of our fans for the Mass Effect trilogy. We hope fans will enjoy spending more time with some of their favorite characters – we have certainly enjoyed spending time creating them. We’re excited to release this final sendoff for the trilogy and move forward into the future of the Mass Effect universe.”

It has come to our attention that some customers are receiving error messages when trying to redeem codes found inside specially marked copies of Mass Effect: Paragon Lost. The code, which entitles the customer to a bonus multiplayer reinforcement pack, contains an expiration date of 12/31/12. We want to assure the customers affected by this that we are aware of the error and are working to extend the expiration date so that the codes can still be redeemed.

BioWare went on to say that it will post an update to its blog when the issue is resolved.

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is an anime movie set in the Mass Effect universe. It was developed as a collaboration between BioWare and Production I.G., the Japanese anime studio famous for projects such as Patlabor, The End of Evangelion, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

The movie was only released on December 28, 2012, so an expiration date of December 31 is quite ridiculous. It’s likely that someone fat-fingered the date for some of the codes in a database somewhere. However, events such as this demonstrate quite clearly why it is silly for offer codes to expire before the product itself does.

For those who aren’t aware, Life Day is the Wookie holiday that is celebrated on the same day as Christmas. It was introduced in 1978′s The Star Wars Holiday Special, which is generally considered the most groan-worthy Star Wars content ever released. The Life Day items that will be sold in SWTOR include Life Day robes, a holiday speeder, a tinsel bomb, and Life Day trees.

Aside from the Life Day items, the new patch also contains a new multiplayer Warzone, and new space combat missions. Players have been waiting for the new Warzone, called Ancient Hypergate, and new space missions for months now. EA and Bioware released a trailer for the content to coincide with the patch’s launch.

BioWare Montreal will be creating the next Mass Effect game, and is already in development on the title. Roy pointed out that the Montreal studio built “about half of the cinematics” for Mass Effect 2, and also most of the N7 missions. For Mass Effect 3, love it or hate it, BioWare Montreal was in charge of the multiplayer aspect. Most recently, the team created the Omega DLC for Mass Effect 3, due out on November 27.

It can be unnerving for fans when a beloved franchise is put into the hands of a new development studio, particularly one with little experience creating an entire AAA title. However, as the furor over the ending of Mass Effect 3 shows, stagnation can also hurt a franchise. Roy did state that BioWare Montreal won’t be alone during development, though. From the blog post:

To ensure a proper and effective transition, we’ll continue to be supported by the Edmonton studio through the game’s development, working with and learning from them on some critical initiatives. On top of that, Casey remains the Executive Producer, but he will have a Project Director under him, working in Montreal, leading our development team and making day-to-day decisions for the game. We all care very much about Mass Effect and make our decisions based on what’s best for the game.

Unfortunately, Roy did not release many details for the upcoming Mass Effect title. The only bit he mentioned is that the game will be built using the Frostbite 2 engine, the same one used for Battlefield 3 and the upcoming Dragon Age III: Inquisition. He also stated that the new game will be “very respectful” of the Mass Effect trilogy and that the switch to a new game engine means the developers are “exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts.”

One of the more high profile releases from EA is BioWare’s Mass Effect 3. The port is being handled by BioWare Edmonton and Straight Right, an Australian developer. This is the only Mass Effect game on the Wii U, and as such, gamers jumping in with the last game in the trilogy will need a little backstory to get caught up.

BioWare says that Mass Effect 3 Special Edition for Wii U will feature the Genesis interactive comic book that was first seen in Mass Effect 2 for the PS3. The comic now covers the events from both Mass Effect 1 and 2, and players be allowed to make the important decisions that affect the plot in Mass Effect 3.

As for bonus content, Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U includes all of the DLC released thus far for the game. That means the From Ashes DLC, the Extended Cut DLC, the Rebellion, Resurgence, and Earth multiplayer packs, and a bonus heavy weapon will be available on disc when it ships. There’s no word yet, however, on how BioWare will handle DLC, like the already released Leviathan, on the Wii U from here on out.

BioWare did confirm that Mass Effect 3 Special Edition will be a launch title for the Wii U across all three territories. That means North America will get it on November 18, Europe will get it on November 30, and Japan will get it on December 5.

It’s been known for a while now that BioWare and EA would be releasing the Mass Effect Trilogy on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this holiday season. It wouldn’t be that interesting except for that the trilogy will be the first time that the original Mass Effect makes the jump to the PS3.

Mass Effect 3 was disappointing to many fans, but the first two titles are generally regarded as some of the finest RPGs of the current generation. The limited edition packaging might be a draw for the hardcore BioWare fans, but the rest of us might want to stick to the copies that we already own. The set is an excellent package, however, for those who haven’t played any of the Mass Effect games.

The Mass Effect Trilogy will be out on the Xbox 360 and PC on November 6. The PS3 version will launch a month later on December 4. The original Mass Effect will also be made available on the PSN on December 4 for those who already own the latter titles on Sony’s console.

Today, a much longer 9-minute preview for the movie was released for the movie. It shows Vega and his men going up against a squad of Krogans. While the Krogans are tough, it should come as no surprise that some biotics and a bit of strategy throws their formation into disarray.

The movie was created as a collaboration between Bioware and Production I.G., the Japanese anime studio famous for TV and movies such as Patlabor, Blood+, The End of Evangelion, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Paragon Lost will be released on December 28, so it might be something to look for when shopping with store credit from gift returns. From the preview below it seems the movie is pretty cheesy, but fans of the Mass Effect universe are sure to want more from the setting, especially when considering the debacle over Mass Effect 3‘s ending.

“We are very pleased to have someone with Rich’s vast experience join us at Bethesda,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “Rich has a history of building and managing talented development teams and bringing high quality games to market, and we look forward to working with him on a new exciting project.”

What exciting new project, could Andonov be referring to? Vogel’s game industry credits include plenty of MMO experience, including Ultima Online, Star Wars: Galaxies, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bethesda has already announced The Elder Scrolls Online, an MMO set in Tamriel, where the company’s Elder Scrolls franchise games take place. Vogel’s MMO experience would suggest that Bethesda needs experienced talent to develop future MMOs. Could this mean an MMO version of Bethesda’s other huge franchise, Fallout, could soon be in development. It’s always possible, and Fallout fans have been clamoring for and speculating about a Fallout MMO for years.

Bethesda, through its parent company ZeniMax Media, already owns one game development studio in Austin. The company acquired French developer Arkane Studios in 2010, which has a branch in Austin. Arkane has just completed development on Dishonored, which will be released next week.