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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDisney Shuts down LucasArts
Less than a year after acquiring the primary video game branch of the legendary Star Wars franchise, Disney is closing LucasArts Entertainment Company.
According to a statement originally obtained by Game Informer, Disney is closing down LucasArts in order to move the company away internal game development, choosing instead to license the Star Wars IP out to a wider variety of third party developers than was presumably available in-house.
"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games, the statement read. As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles."
The fate of the upcoming action-adventure game Star Wars 1313, along with the full extent of the current layoffs from LucasArts, is unclear. The video game website Kotaku is reporting that LucasArts has laid off 150 employees so far and has cancelled 1313, but another report from Game Informer claims that a representative from the company still thinks the game could come out through a licensing agreement.
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/disney-shuts-down-lucasarts-star-wars-1313-fate-unknown-1C9196197#/technology/ingame/disney-shuts-down-lucasarts-star-wars-1313-fate-unknown-1C9196197
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)LucasArts has put out some great games.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)femmocrat
(28,394 posts)What a shame for all those creative geniuses at LucasArts.