GAME MAKER LUCASARTS TO
CLOSE
Layoffs in S'pore and San Francisco
expected
WALT Disney is shutting down LucasArts, the once-pioneering
video game unit of George Lucas' Star Wars empire, resulting in
layoffs in both Singapore and San Francisco.
The company would not disclose how many of its
reportedly more than 350 employees are to be laid off, but its
Singapore spokesman, Ms Rasa Buckley, was quoted as saying that it
is "much less" than the 150 layoffs affecting its San Francisco
office.
She added that the company decided to shift
LucasArt from an internal development model to a licensing model
after evaluating its position in the games market.
"We are incredibly proud of our team and are doing
everything we possibly can to help them with out-placement
opportunities," Ms Buckley said.
She added that LucasFilm Singapore's feature
animation and visual effects productions are not affected.
The company is scheduled to move into its new
facility, the Sandcrawler, in Fusionopolis this year.
Disney bought LucasArts last year as part of its
US$4 billion (S$4.96 billion) acquisition of Lucas-Film. The move
to shut down LucasArts fits in with Disney's broader retrenchment
in video games.
The company has, over the past few years, closed
several game production studios and is concentrating its resources
on "Disney Infinity," which brings together many of its animated
and live-action characters in a single ambitious and
costly-to-produce title.
Any future games based on Stars Wars or other
LucasFilm properties will be made by other companies under licence,
said a spokesman.
Production on the Star Wars games 1313 and First
Assault have stopped. They will be released only if another
publisher signs on to complete them, reported wire agencies.
News Watch, The New Paper, Friday, April 5 2013, Pg 8