Kotaku has received word from several LucasArts employees that the company is phasing out employees at all levels of production, including QA testers, programmers, artists, and LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga producer Shawn Stoc. These positions are expected to be outsourced overseas, with LucasArts to more strongly utilize outside development teams to handle their IPs.
Several of these ex-employees, obviously more than a little miffed over the mass layoffs, have decided to start spilling the beans on several titles LucasArts was rumored to have in development. Among them are Star Wars Battlefront 3, another LEGO Indiana Jones game (which Traveler’s Tales had already said was a possibility), a Wii lightsaber game, and a non-LEGO Indiana Jones game. What’s that? Those titles don’t have you very excited? Well how about this: word of Knights of the Old Republic III and its companion MMO has also surfaced. Excuse me while I release a cry of unbridled joy.
While some of these games are likely residing in the hands of other developers (BioWare better be working on KotOR 3!) the status of those still being handled by LucasArts might be looking a little worrisome with so much of their workforce cut loose. Thankfully, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is apparently far enough along in its development cycle (ready to ship, in fact) to not be affected by these mass firings. Day 1 Studios’ Fracture also seems to be unaffected, although several team members referred to it as “an absolute piece of garbage.” Ouch! Of course, it’s entirely probable that statement had more to do with resentment towards their former employer than the game’s actual quality. Although this news is all but confirmed, we'll go ahead and file this as a Rumortoid until we receive some sort of statement from LucasArts.
So what do you think about the change in LucasArts’ development model? Are you as pumped over a more solid KOTOR 3 confirmation as I am?
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Contest:
1:19 PM on 06.06.2008
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I stll want a new Jedi Knight. :(
My pants have tightened
I'm gonna just sit here and smile for the rest of the day...also thats unfortunate about the whole layoff thing...
SQUEE!
Also, new Battlefront.
Also.... WHO THE FUCK IS JUSTIN VILLASENOR??
I guess they will find out when the LLOD* come for them.
*Lucas Lawyers of Doom
sk33t sk33t
Although overseas outsourcing would make the romance angle in KOTOR easier to write. Your female character gets an arranged marriage with the choice of 1.Happily accept or 2.Get hacked to pieces by your family.
As for a KOTOR 3. Although I liked 2 I was real disappointed with the unfinished loose ends aspect of it. If they could release a complete product with an acceptable angle of improvement (Knights of the New Republic maybe?) I would dampen my pants for sure.
KOTOR3, BF3 = super sweet
I wasn't actually expecting an answer, was just hazing you- SILLY PANTS!
I don't think EA is just going to loan out their newest developer to Lucasarts, do you?
If Bioware IS making KOTOR 3, then it would be a joint release between EA and Lucasarts, which I don't think Lucasart would do. Since when has George let any company beside his own profit off the Star Wars name?
*dies in joy*
Please fire 100 of your employees.
Thanks, bitch, you're my rock-
Cobra.
And why would Bioware be doing KotoR 3 when EA owns them now?
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 3!?!?! HELL YES! I will eat that up in a second.
I'm really not that interested in KOTOR3 or the MMO at this moment, but it better as hell have been developed in the U.S.
#2: (this is pure speculation) regarding the wiimote lightsaber rumor: cross reference this with the evidence of wii-mote clones for the 360 and the ps3, plus the fact that lucasarts rarely releases platform exclusive titles, and you have an even juicier rumor: lucasarts is working on a remote lightsaber game for the 3 next-gen home consoles. we might even see a release of the 360 and ps3 version of these games come packaged with the new controllers.