While nerds everywhere might have high hopes for the new Star Wars films being pioneered by Disney, dreams of LucasArts receiving the same revitalizing treatment were dashed today with the news that Disney has shut down the developing and publishing arms of LucasArts.
LucasArts has had a troubled history these past few years, what with the ugly rumors surrounding Battlefront 3 and the Force Unleashed series being canned before the second game even came out. Star Wars 1313, which made a good impression last year at E3, hasn’t really made another big appearance since then, another victim of LucasArt’s internal struggles. Star Wars: First Assault, the digital-based first-person-shooter, has also been cancelled.
Disney has made it clear that this doesn’t mean the end of Star Wars games by any means, just that we won’t see another one developed internally by LucasArts. It’s a sad day for the 150 employees laid off by this move, and we here at GamerSushi hope the land on their feet. That said, having another developer take a stab at the franchise might be just the kick it needs to bring Star Wars video games back into relevance.
What do you guys think about this news? Sad to see LucasArts go? Which studio do you think will pick up Star Wars? Which team would be the best fit for Star Wars 1313 or a new Battlefront?
Source – Game Informer