Spector sold Junction Point for Mickey IP

Warren Spector grudgingly sold his own studio to Disney because he knew it was the only way he could take up a once in a lifetime opportunity: building a game around an inimitable twentieth-century icon.

In the first part of Develop’s interview with the industry luminary, Spector revealed exactly why Junction Point Studios was sold to Disney.

“There was no way Disney was going to give away the keys to the kingdom,” he said. “No way would they let the icon that is Mickey Mouse be remade for games by an external studio.

“They made it clear that if I wanted to make the game – and I really wanted to make the game – it was going to be as part of Disney.”

Spector admitted that he didn’t want to sell the Texas-based Junction Point – a studio he established from the ashes of Ion Storm back in 2005 – yet his thirst for working on the Mickey Mouse IP proved insatiable.

“I really wanted to make the game but didn’t want to sell,” he said. “I like being an independent developer, but you can always go for a second start-up – you never get a second shot at doing Mickey Mouse.”

Elsewhere in the first part of Develop’s interview, Spector discusses why Mickey’s coming to the Wii, the other projects he’s pondering, as well as discuss his evolving relationship with Disney.

Click here to read part one.