Darrell Rodriguez has been named president of LucasArts, the videogame division of Lucasfilm Ltd., it was announced today by Lucasfilm President Micheline Chau.
He replaces Jim Ward, who stepped down in February.
"Darrell is the ideal person to run LucasArts," Chau said. "Having worked at both Electronic Arts and Disney Imagineering he brings the perfect blend of production, operational, and creative expertise. For a games company such as LucasArts with its roots in film, this is an electric combination."
Rodriguez will take the helm at LucasArts in mid-April. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at Electronic Arts LA in charge of overall operations, product development and strategic growth for the studio.
An avid gamer, Rodriguez has extensive expertise in multiple categories from action sports games, to first person shooters, to real time strategy games. He has worked on such diverse titles as SSX ON TOUR; MEDAL OF HONOR: AIRBORNE; THE LORD OF THE RINGS: BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH II; and COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS.
"I couldn't be more excited to join such a dynamic and innovative company as LucasArts," states Rodriguez. "The people are world class and the IP is the best in the business. To be able to work with such cultural icons as STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES and develop new franchises is like a dream come true."
Prior to Electronic Arts, Rodriguez also held positions in product development and production at EarthLink, Walt Disney Imagineering and the Walt Disney Internet Group. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Rodriguez earned his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley.
Rodriguez joins LucasArts at a key time in its 26-year history. 2008 boasts a terrific slate of games led by LEGO INDIANA JONES: THE ORIGINAL ADVENTURES, which will launch June 3 just after the theatrical release of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.
Developed by the same team at Traveller's Tales that created the LEGO STAR WARS series, LEGO INDIANA JONES: THE ORIGINAL ADVENTURES presents a tongue-in-cheek take on the first three cinematic adventures of pop culture's most iconic archaeologist.
Next up is the highly anticipated STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED, in which the player is cast as Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice in the time between Episodes III and IV.
The first next-gen game to come out of LucasArts internal studio, STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED completely reimagines the scope and scale of the Force. FRACTURE, a new IP developed by Day One Studios, advances players 150 years into a future in which the devastating effects of global warming and the debate around genetic enhancement have literally and figuratively split the United States in two, placing it on the brink of war. The game introduces "Terrain Deformation," a truly next-gen gameplay mechanic that allows players to completely modify the battlefield on the fly.
LucasArts, a division of Lucasfilm Entertainment Company, is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game consoles, computers and the Internet.
Based in San Francisco, California, as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com, LucasArts was created in 1982 by George Lucas to provide an interactive element to his vision of a state-of-the-art, multifaceted company.
