LucasArts: Officially Dead-ish

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CodeRedR51

CodeRedR51

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http://www.comingsoon.net/news/gamenews.php?id=102392

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In sad news from the gaming world, Disney has announced it is closing LucasArts as a development company and instead will license titles out. Here's the official statement:

"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."

Disney laid off the entire staff of 150 people this morning and both of the company's current projects--Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313--have been cancelled.
Click to expand...

:crazy:
 
LucasArts has been dead in the water for at least half a decade now (at least since that nasty business with Battlefront III, though K.O.T.O.R. II showed that there was cracks in the seams anyway). It's surprising that it took this long for this to happen, since there were rumblings of them becoming nothing more than a glorified publishing house for years before Disney bought everything.



And, if nothing else:
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Doubt most of them will be unemployed for too long.
 
150 people are a lot to absorb. Won't be a happy ending for all of them, I wager.

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How the hell are they going to make a new Day of the Tentacle now?
 
niky
How the hell are they going to make a new Day of the Tentacle now?
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Licensing!

I'm hoping this will make it more likely that GOG will be able to sell LucasArts' back catalog, I'd give an arm and a leg for X-Wing, TIE Fighter, the SCUMM games. Sure, they would be someone else's arm and leg, but still.
 
Really sucks 1313's cancelled too, could've been great.

End of an era.

Although the reasons for doing it make sense, Disney's still gonna get a lot of backlash from fans for this.
 
1313 I was looking forward to. Really gutted.

I don't follow the Star Wars Franchises and who's made what and when, could 1313 be picked by someone else or sub license it somehow.
 
Honestly this doesn't surprise me. I'm with Toronado on this one.
 
Well hopefully the people like Free Radical (whilst no longer a company) who originally were messed about by LucasArts, perhaps they might get a chance to band together again and have a second crack at making the games if Disney approves.
 
Disney laid off the entire staff of 150 people this morning and both of the company's current projects--Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313--have been cancelled.
Click to expand...

This is actually very disappointing. Those two projects were the first in years that could have been great titles.

Ugh.
 

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