Yes, it’s true. Disney has officially closed LucasArts, and will no longer be publishing or developing games internally under this banner. While Disney had acquired LucasArts as part of the purchase of LucasFilm, the news broke late yesterday that they’ve decided to disband their interest in games development and will move instead to a licensing model for Star Wars games.
Game Informer received an email from a Disney rep which clarified the situation a little more:
“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.”
And yes, this likely means that any projects the studio was working on are now cancelled—despite the fact that Star Wars 1313 was shown at last year’s E3, and had since created some buzz.
Savvy gamers will recall that LucasArts has also been responsible for many non-Star Wars titles in the past, including the beloved The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango. In terms of Star Wars titles, LucasArts had made these games since the days of the Super Nintendo, so the news comes as a bit of a blow to Star Wars fans and long-time gamers everywhere.
That said, you may wish to head over to your Wii Virtual Console and download any LucasArts titles found there as soon as you can—it’s possible they may be pulled at any time, depending on what Disney’s plans are with existing games.
Nintendo Fire’s condolences and best wishes go out to those who lost their jobs as a result of this closure, and we’re hopeful that everyone affected will find new positions quickly.
