Sources suggest that after just two months in the job, new LucasArts boss Paul Meegan is making some pretty big changes to the studio.
Rumors are circulating that new LucasArts President Paul Meegan has cancelled development on the third installment of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and will be letting several members of the development team go when Force Unleashed 2 launches in October. A second, unnamed project has reportedly been put on hold, pending changes in management and reportedly following the departure of Haden Blackman last month.
Finally, outside development on LucasArts-owned brands is said to be coming to an end, with BioWare’s The Old Republic MMOG being the last game to not be made internally. This would mean no more LEGO Star Wars or Indiana Jones games, and no more episodes of Tales of Monkey Island as these have been handled by Traveller’s Tales and Telltale Games respectively. Sources suggest that morale at LucasArts has hit an all-time low under Meegan’s leadership, and that there are significant problems with communication. Apparently, many people only found out about the cancellation of Force Unleashed 2 on the PSP by reading about it on gaming news sites.
If the rumors are true, then LucasArts will presumably be focusing on internal development, but if that’s the case, then letting staff go doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s possible that Meegan wants to release a smaller number of titles each year however, which theoretically would need fewer staff. Speculation aside, if any LucasArts staff are about to lose their jobs, we hope they land on their feet.
Source: Kotaku
Published: Aug 18, 2010 11:39 am