Ctrl Alt Del Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Disney has laid off the staff of LucasArts and cancelled all current projects. Staff were informed of the shutdown this morning, according to a reliable Kotaku source. Some 150 people were laid off, and both of the studio's current projects--Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313--were cancelled. This comes after weeks and months of rumors involving the studio, which was acquired by Disney last fall. In September, LucasArts put a freeze on all hiring and product announcements, which many staff saw as the beginning of the end. Today, it's official: the longrunning studio is no more. Source I'm aghast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astor Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I'd heard about the freezing of recruitment, but didn't really think it would be the end. Where's this going to leave TOR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I want to say I'm shocked and that I'm going to miss them etc. but they were like an elderly parent in a vegetative state by this point. I just hope the talented devs get good jobs and make some quality games. Welp, guess it's time to shut down the forums then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pho3nix Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I say, good riddance! Where's this going to leave TOR? Bioware? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Where's this going to leave TOR? Unless BioWare are complete idiots in investing so much into another company's franchise, they have a contract to protect them with use for the foreseeable future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Advocate Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Does this constitute as a dire situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Yes, yes, Kathleen Kennedy is a veteran producer of some well known films and George Lucas has designated her as the heir to his empire. I've no idea what that means for LucasArts however since George Lucas has a similar background in film making. I really would not be surprised to see LucasArts drop all pretenses at publishing and developing video games/interactive entertainment and switch to a licensor only role. This move by Disney lines up with what I thought might happen. Disney CEO Robert Iger obviously meant what he said when he stated that he saw Disney pursuing console games on a licensing basis. It's sad to see LucasArts become a marketing/licensing label only but the harsh truth is that the company has had poor to mediocre performance for the past few years in terms of production. It might have been a different story had LucasArts been generating good product with a solid management team in place. Unfortunately that was not the case. Now it becomes a matter of what Disney will do with games for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other LucasArts IP. Hopefully this gives development houses like Obsidian Entertainment an opportunity to make some AAA games for Star Wars like they've been wanting to do. There is definitely substantial market demand for AAA Star Wars games. Hopefully Disney won't ignore that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I was gonna post up rumours about this but got lazy. Ever since Disney bought LucasFilm there were lots of reports that no more staff were being hired for LucasArts and that people were leaving and that 1313's development had been halted indefinitely... well, guess they're not just rumours any more. Can't say it'll make all that much difference to be honest since LucasArts has done next to nothing in recent years. As for swtor, EA is making easy money from it with the cartel stuff so they'll most likely do everything they can to keep the star wars license and continue on with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle111 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 No,no please no if LucasArts is gona be shut down then how l will be able to download TFU or buy FOC at a local store at my country or also try out TOR becoz soon l might get a faster PC argh DISNEY!!!! l'm beginig to lose faith in Lucas/Disney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Those games are already released, you will still be able to buy them. Games like Star Wars 1313 are the ones that are dead as they were still in development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle111 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Those games are already released, you will still be able to buy them. Games like Star Wars 1313 are the ones that are dead as they were still in development. Yeah but still were will TOR be l'm soon at summer l might get a labtop or a new PC to try TOR out ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 TOR isn't going anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle111 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 l hope so mimartin l hope but if TOR is gona be destroyed like LUCAS or CW then l'm... argh!! l don't have the words for it like Darth Vader would say "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I wonder what direction Star Wars games will take, now? It was hard enough to get continuations of beloved franchises when LA was in charge of things, and now I'd bet Disney's intention for the foreseeable future would be mainstream media tie-ins/new franchises. I don't understand why 1313 and First Assault couldn't be outsourced, though. It seems like such a waste... Probably a medley of convoluted internal factors involved in the decision to axe, I'd wager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltiades Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 LucasArts has been a mess for years and I can't remember the last time they made a good game as developers (Republic Commando?), so it's really neither a surprise nor a bad thing, necessarily (except for, you know, people losing their jobs). It seems to open up the chance of Star Wars games being licensed out to other game companies on a more regular basis, but then I think about what Disney said about games when they bought Lucasfilm and I wonder... This could go either way, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ctrl Alt Del Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 I don't understand why 1313 and First Assault couldn't be outsourced, though. It seems like such a waste... Because Colonial Marines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taak Farst Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 oh man. I wonder how much longer LF will last? Damn shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexrd Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I don't understand why 1313 and First Assault couldn't be outsourced, though. They can, but nobody wants them. It's a shame to see LEC go out like this. I'd rather have no new movies than to see all this cancellations and related changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 oh man. I wonder how much longer LF will last? Damn shame. Think Sabre has already written the Obit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawathehutt Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 What a damn shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 While I agree about the decline of LA in recent years, the news still makes me said. Many of the games I love (and still play) have the LA logo pop up on startup. Knowing it no longer exists is a sad day for me. As for LF, I don't see it really making a difference. It isn't like the community has disappeared, and if anything the only way for SW gaming is up IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Foley Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Disney Closes Game Publisher Lucasarts 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. Games are not necessarily dead, however. On the surface this looks like the end, but in fact I think it's good news. Lucasarts hasn't made a passable game since Force Unleashed, and it hasn't really had a good year since 2005. The licensing model will allow more star wars games to be produced because Disney isn't the one taking the risk. Given that Obsidian has said that they want to make KotOR 3, the only thing in the way now is whatever Disney will charge for the license, which they really have no reason not to grant unless they want to give it to somebody else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I am also pleased that they're getting killed. LA hasn't been active in quite some time. I hardly expect Disney to just sit on the licenses, so this should mean more games in the pipeline for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*~*Darth pOOba*~* Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 I know Lucasarts really hasn't been doin much lately, but this company was iconic. I kinda feel like I just lost an arm or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Think Sabre has already written the Obit. Loving your new avatar Mim. Well, loving as in finding it very apropos for today's grim news. Lord Foley, Regarding the report that Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars First Assault aren't necessarily dead, LucasArts/Disney must find a studio and publisher to take these games on. That will require someone from LucasArts/Disney to actively seek such a partner. I think the chances of that happening are slim and thus Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars First Assault are effectively dead if not officially. I will continue to be an interested observer in all things Star Wars gaming. There are a lot of unknowns now but that isn't necessarily all bad. Will publishers like EA and Take-Two start to look at more opportunities to have their development studios make Star Wars games? Will Activision consider partnering with Disney to make SW games even though Disney Infinity is positioned to be a direct competitor to Activision's successful Skylanders franchise? Will Obsidian finally be able to make the SW game they mention from time to time even though they'll now have to get buy-in from a publisher and Disney/LucasArts instead of just LucasArts? Will Disney find a studio and publisher to make a game in support of Episode 7 or will we not have any decent SW games for the new movie? Those are some of the questions rolling around in my head. When all is said and done I'm just hoping that AAA Star Wars games will continue to be made and that they're fun to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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