In its quest for world domination, Disney has taken to the mobile market and snatched up the free-to-play behemoth, Zynga Games. Disney and Zynga finalized their partnership, issuing press releases specifying that the minds behind Words with Friends and Draw Something now have domain over potentially two new mobile games set in the Star Wars universe.
This is huge news for the sleeping mobile giant that is still recouping from its massive acquisition of NaturalMotion Studios in 2014 for a whopping $527 million dollars. The very same studio will take over the current real-time strategy game, Star Wars: Commander as well as develop a new IP for a future release. Depending on the success of the new release, NaturalMotion might have the opportunity for a follow-up game.
As is customary with the Walt Disney Company, they put their newly acquired intellectual property to good use in 2015 with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The emergence of a new Star Wars trilogy, under new management and a brilliant director at the helm with J.J. Abrams, “The Force Awakens” dominated the box office and its successor was not far behind. The two installments have grossed a staggering $3.4 billion to date. Which goes to show that the Rebels, the Empire, and everyone in between can captivate audiences 40 years after their first encounter.
What does this mean for the future of Star Wars?
In short, it means that Star Wars (if it already wasn’t) is now a mainstream, renewable source of entertainment. That may anger some long-time fans, but the financial and creative growth could turn out to be beneficial for the franchise. More money in the company means more content; more content means reaching a broader audience. Next year, the Disney Empire will take its amusement parks to a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Commander and Star Wars: Tiny Death Star are some of the only mobile games set in the Star Wars universe on the market and haven’t seen much activity since their initial releases. The lifespan of a free-to-play real-time strategy game is fairly quick in a digital age when new content is being produced every day. However, we suspect there to be a resurgence of updates and content to attract players to a beloved franchise. Not much else is known about the merger, but we can expect some detailed reports of current and future releases as Zynga gets comfortable with its new parent company.
