by Stacy Jones on Apr 03, 2013
Theres bad news brewing for the good people over at LucasArts today. After Disneys epic $4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm last October, the game development division of LucasArts has officially been shelved, resulting in a number of layoffs. Disney issued a statement earlier today about the decision.
"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."
One of LucasArts most recent project, Star Wars 1313, seemed to be building momentum coming out of last years E3 event, but that momentum slowed as rumors that the development of the game had ceased began to surface. Luckily, for fans hanging on to hope that the game will see the light of day following Disneys announcement, you may yet get your wish.
Game Informer spoke with a representative from LucasArts earlier today that indicated that Star Wars 1313 could still see a release through licensing, so while nothing is 100% guaranteed, there is a chance. The report is kind of at odds with what a LucasArts rep told Kotaku earlier today. On the more dreary side of the news, Kotaku is also reporting that around 150 people were made jobless by the move.
As always, our best wishes go out to those affected by the layoffs.
Sources: Game Informer, Kotaku