Game Over for LucasArts video game studio

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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/games/game-over-lucasarts-including-its-studio-singapore-reports

Walt Disney plans to shut the 30-year-old LucasArts studio it inherited with the acquisition of George Lucas’ film company last year, and focus on licensing its Star Wars brand externally, a spokesman said yesterday.

Film producer, screenwriter and director George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney last October.

The decision to shutter LucasArts comes as the developer and publisher, once known for humour-tinged adventure games like Secret of Monkey Island, has struggled in recent years to produce a hit in an industry increasingly dominated by action-oriented games.

The video game blog Kotaku reported that Disney is laying off all employees in the studio’s San Francisco and Singapore offices.

Ms Rasa Buckley, the communications manager for Lucasfilm in Singapore, confirmed that LucasArts staff in Singapore would be laid off, although she was unable to say how many were affected. Kotaku had reported that more than 150 employees worldwide were laid off effective immediately.

Ms Buckley said that the company was doing all it could for those who would be laid off, including transfers to other positions in Lucasfilm if they were available.

Ms Buckley said the move is part of a strategy to shift away from developing the game titles externally. She confirmed that in-house development of titles had been stopped, and said that they were looking to transfer rights for the games to external parties for development, citing the "tremendous potential" of some of the titles, including the highly-anticipated Star Wars 1313.