Disney, which acquired Lucasfilm and LucasArts last year in a $4.05 billion deal, has shut down the legendary LucasArts division.
"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," Disney informed Game Informer in a statement. "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."
Although a Star Wars game factory in recent years, the publisher will be remembered for its work defining the adventure genre from the '80s to the '90s, on such titles as Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle. The soul of those games and that era moved on from the company after the departure of Ron Gilbert and Double Fine's Tim Schafer.
The last announced LucasArts project was Star Wars 1313, but rumors have circulated for months about the action-adventure's halted development. The fate of Star Wars: First Assault, a multiplayer shooter, has been just as unclear.
As for Disney, the company is all-in on Disney Infinity and mobile games, having shut down the last of its core developers.
