LucasArts Shut Down (Confirmed)

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I Don’t Even…

Hey kids, still busy as hell in RL, but I couldn’t NOT post about this. Now I’m not the biggest fan of Kotaku, I admit, but since it’s not April 1st anymore, I’m going to take their story that LucasArts is being shut down by Disney as sadly factual. If this is true, it’s the end of an era. This era brought us, for a while at least, some of the finest computer gaming experiences one could imagine, such as X-Wing, TIE Fighter and so many other wonderful games. If this is indeed true that LucasArts is shutting down, it’s a sad day for video game fans everywhere. I hope I speak for everyone when I say to the folks at what was formerly LucasArts, I wish everyone who’s been laid off luck in finding new work, and thank the folks at LucasArts for all of their hard work. I’ll be drinking to you all tonight, and maybe play some TIE Fighter as well in honor of such a legendary company that ended not with a bang, but an undeserved whimper.

Edit: GameInformer is also reporting on the story, which makes it that much more credible. I’m near tears here at being so heartbroken over this.

Author: Brian Rubin

25 thoughts on “LucasArts Shut Down (Confirmed)

  1. Wow… that’s some crazy news. I’m actually pulling inspiration from one of their lesser known game’s “Gladius” for my game. Wish my company was to the point where I could pay people so I could bring some of them on.

    lol never the less, if they’d want to keep milking Disney’s unemployment and volunteer with me they’d be welcome :)

    1. Hah, I’ve been looking for a copy of Gladius ever since I got my first PS2 a few months back.

  2. Let’s not neglect their amazing catalog of point and click adventure games either – one of which, The Dig, would thematically fit on this website (even though it’s not a space flight sim). I loved those old Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer adventures, played them constantly – not so bad now that they have homes of their own, but it’s still a drag to see old LucasArts put down like a sick dog.

    1. Oh I’m not, sadly I was getting out of adventure games as LA was getting into them. Only one I think I played was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Or maybe Curse of Monkeys Island too.

  3. Been in a foul mood all day, long before I read this news – dunno, maybe I’d felt a disturbance in the Force. Anyway, based on things I’ve seen over the last ten years of my game industry career, this coming from Disney just doesn’t surprise me. And what a thing to do with a name like LucasArts – you’d think Disney has deep enough pockets to rehabilitate even a disaster of a game studio.

    It rather does cement their position on my personal list of companies that I try to avoid allowing to receive my money, right along with Microsoft and EA.

  4. Didn’t know they were still kicking around. This is like writing a death certificate for someone that died years ago, but it’s now official (Can’t recall any games that they’ve developed recently off of top of my head).

    However, they said they’re shutting down development part, but not the whole thing.

  5. What’s the last title they released? Star Wars Kinect. What a way to go ….

  6. It’s been a long time since LucasArts released a good game plus the original team from the adventure and Tie Fighter games is long gone. Hate to see people lose their jobs though and it is possible the 1313 title might have redeemed their recent track record.

  7. meh, just what I expected from Di$ney.

    Although LucasArts themselves hardly did something spectacular since Battlegrounds or Empire at War (if it still counts)

    1. True, but to me, I choose to view their legacy from the earlier, better days.

  8. Disney have done nothing wrong here. In their prime Lucasarts was responsible for some of PC gaming’s best loved titles but that all changed with the release of the star Wars prequel films. Most of the talent that created those classics have moved on to new companies. It is sad to see such a great name die but Lucasarts as a brand haven’t done anything significant or praiseworthy in the better part of a decade; Disney are absolutely right to put a shotgun to the head of this shambling, undead horror.

    1. I dunno, I can’t take as grim a viewpoint as yours, given that I had always hoped LA would strive to redeem itself eventually. Now even that possibility is gone.

  9. Lucas arts did a lot of good things… It is a pity.
    But I suppose its better this way than Disney dragging them through the mud. :

    1. That’s kinda where they’ve been even before Disney took over. It’s sad, but their legacy really became tarnished.

  10. To me their last decent game was Republic Commando. And it was – what? 2003 or so?
    Not to mention that their true glory was in the nineties. The Dig, DOTT and others – it all long gone, unfortunately. In 2000’s LucasArts was nothing more than Star Wars brand factory. And a mediocre factory at best.
    So I don’t really weep for it, no. Star Wars 1313 could be its revival, but it also could be another husk like Force Unleashed. I don’t blame Disney for unplugging this halfdead company. If there were talented people there they would find new places to use their talents.

    That said, RIP, Lucasarts.

  11. From what I ‘ve read elsewhere, although they were a very talented and passionate studio to the very end , they suffered greatly from mismanagement. I might be a heretic here, but their demise might prove a blessing in disguise. Since Disney will switch to licencing the “LucasArts” brand, we may well see old properties, get ressurected. (And it will be a good sign, if we finally see their games on GoG). Imagine if “Totally Games” would get a licence for a new X-Wing game. That would be unthinkable with the previous LucasArts management. (See also this RPS obituary https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/04/rip-lucasarts-a-personal-obituary/)

    >>>>I’m actually pulling inspiration from one of their lesser known game’s “Gladius” for my game.

    What a fine, unappreciated game. I found it in a bargain bin when I bought my original X-Box. What’s the name of your game?

    >>>>Hah, I’ve been looking for a copy of Gladius ever since I got my first PS2 a few months back.

    If you ever find a copy, and like tinkering with an emulator, try playing this game with pcsx2. “Gladius” looks very good in a 1080p resolution!!!!

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