When I first heard that Disney acquired the rights of the Star Wars franchise for $4 billion back in October of 2012 I had mix feelings. A part of me was happy that George Lucas no longer could dictate the direction of Star Wars (lets face it, introducing Jar Jar Binks to the Star Wars universe was a “terrriibble” idea), but I felt that if any company could do right with Star Wars, it would be Disney. Then the exodus started to happen. Recently Disney canceled the popular Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon show, and just the other day Disney announced the closing of LucasArts just 154 days after acquiring it.
LucasArts was founded by George Lucas in May of 1982 and went on to create some great and memorable games for all platforms. Mainly known for their Star Wars titles, LucasArts also developed some now classics including Maniac Mansion, Sam & Max, Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Thrillville, to name a few. Some notable Star Wars game titles that LucasArts either developed or published include the Star Wars X-Wing series, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic series and the Star Wars Battlefront series, out of many.
So what does this mean for future Star Wars games? Well, the highly anticipated Star Wars 1313 game is now cancelled indefinitely, and any hopes for a new Battlefront 3 game is now little to none. It is likely that Disney will now farm out any Star Wars and Indiana Jones licenses to other gaming developers to create. LucasArts isn’t the only gaming studio that Disney has closed this year. Disney also recently announced the closure of Junction Point Studios who developed the Epic Mickey series.
Disney is a company that knows how to make money, and I’m sure their decision to close LucasArts made financial “cents”. One thing is now certain…a part of my gaming childhood is gone with the closure of LucasArts.
What is your favorite LucasArts game?
