Thought EA had Star Wars locked up? Lego Star Wars says no

Today Warner Bros.

Today Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Disney announced Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens , a multi-platform entry in the popular franchise which spans platforms from the Xbox One to the Nintendo 3DS and basically everything in-between this June.

But how did it happen, if EA has the exclusive rights to the franchise?

Turns out, not so much; as we reported in 2013, that deal covered games aimed at a "core gaming audience." Presumably shooters like its successful Battlefront (which recently laid out plansfor downloadable content) meet that criterion; apparently Lego Star Wars does not.

Of course, EA has other Star Wars games in the offing as part of its multi-year deal with Disney. No word, either, on what other games we can expect that skirt the "core gaming" provision and which other publishers might score a chance to work on the resurgent franchise. Disney itself, of course, includes plenty of Star Wars-related content in its own Disney Infinity franchise.