Disney closes LucasArts, Future of Star Wars 1313 and others uncertain

Disney is re-evaluating their position in the games market, and today, it’s brought them to shutter LucasArts. The closing of LucasArts means that they will also be cancelling internal development of Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault.

The company is shifting to a licensing model, allowing Disney to minimize risk. The company announces that the changes come with layoffs across the multiple teams working on LucasArts games. According to an official statement from Disney:

“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.”

The company is examining options for these games at the moment. According to a statement from a LucasArts representative who spoke with Game Informer, “It is worth noting that we are looking for proven external partners who can help us provide video games to our fans. We still believe in the video game industry, we still will provide Star Wars games, we’re just looking at different models rather than internal production… They’re evaluating everything. There’s always a possibility that it (Star Wars 1313) can still come out via licensing.”