Star Wars 1313 shelved as Disney powers down LucasArts

There's a great disturbance in the gaming world, as Disney has stopped game development at LucasArts, putting all its current projects on ice.

Millions of gamers' voices will suddenly cry out in terror at the news, which sees the studio behind classics like The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and X-Wing hang up its development hat.

The LucasArts name may not die out completely, as Disney will be licensing the studio's games, Wired reports. In terms of making new games however, LucasArts' time is done, and has made significant layoffs across the board.

Development on both Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault has been halted, though a source 'with knowledge of the decision' told CNET that neither game is being fully shut down.

Don't hold out too much hope though, as Kotaku also cites anonymous sources who say that "both games are effectively dead forever." Ouch.

Star Wars 1313 looked particularly tempting, and earned itself a spot in our 'Most exciting games and gadgets of E3 2012' rundown. The game was set to put you in the metal boots of a bounty hunter on Coruscant, blasting your way through a hive of scum and villainy, and it looked eye-bleedingly gorgeous.

It's a shame to see the studio's creative side die out, and it's certainly grim to see developers facing layoffs. Disney took control of LucasArts when it bought Lucasfilm last year, and confirmed that it would be cooking up a number of new Star Wars films. Since that acquisition, Mickey and pals have also cancelled the animated Clone Wars cartoon.

[Source: CNET]

Disney to shut down its Online streaming site

Ever heard of Disney Movies Online? Apparently not many have, as Disney announced it'll be shutting down the online movie streaming service at the end of the year. It isn't a shock that a movie streaming site that only offers flicks from one studio and no integration with something like UltraViolet (Disney remains the only major studio avoiding that kludge) wasn't a success. People who were actually using it can use the same redeem code that came bundled with their discs, in iTunes or Windows Media Player. Those few who actually paid for access have until the end of February of next year to request a refund. There's talk of a replacement "Disney Movies Anywhere" solution on the way -- possibly based on its KeyChest system -- but joining UltraViolet, in its current form, doesn't seem much better then Disney Movies Online was.

[Source: Engadget]

Disney acquires Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, plans more Star Wars movies

Disney is already one of the biggest media companies around, and it's now set to become even bigger. The company announced late today that it's acquiring Lucasfilm Ltd., currently 100 percent owned by founder George Lucas, for $4.05 billion in a cash and stock deal. That of course includes the rights to both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises, as well as Lucasfilm properties like Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. What's more, the press release announcing the deal also confirmed that Disney is now targeting 2015 for a release of Star Wars: Episode 7, and that its "long term plan is to release a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years." No word yet on a proper release of the original, original trilogy.

[Source: Engadget]