After it was reported that Disney acquired ‘Star Wars’, and all of the appropriate companies and properties that it contained, the fate of the LucasArts has been in the doldrums.
Now it has been confirmed that Disney will close down the LucasArts development property. This means that Disney has stopped development and has laid off those employees. The official Disney statement is as followed:
“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. 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.”
There is no official word that production, development or support for any of the future titles ‘Star Wars 1313’ or current titles ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’, will cease because of this action. It is more likely that titles will now be licensed to other developers, which could offer more ‘Star Wars’ branded titles in the future. This could also mean that franchises like ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’ could find their way back to their original owners. Time will tell what will happen to the franchises that Disney now owns.
source: gameinformer
