Disney Wants More Developers To Make Games Like Spider-Man, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

After moving away from developing games internally, Disney is inviting developers to pitch ideas for games using its extensive library of properties.

Sean Shoptaw, the Senior Vice-Principal of Games and Interactive Experiences, spoke at the 2020 DICE Summit in Las Vegas, detailing the new approach Disney is taking with regards to having its properties represented in games again.

"I'm here for one specific reason: to empower you to do really unique things with our [catalogue]," Shoptaw said during his keynote. "We want to tap into the power of creatives across the industry."

Shoptaw invited developers in attendance to "come and play" with the properties Disney owns, which has grown extensively after the company purchased 21st Century Fox last year (along with its gaming division). He emphasized the desire for original stories using established characters and franchises, citing Insomniac's Spider-Man and Respawn's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as good examples of how successful this approach can be.

Working with other publishers isn't new to Disney. The company has had a decades-spanning deal with Square Enix for Kingdom Hearts, as well as an exclusive one with EA for Star Wars adaptations. This appearance at DICE is the first time since stepping away from internal development that Disney is detailing its strategy for video games going forward.