Update: A Disney representative has informed Digital Trends that the Lucasfilm Games team is not a revival of past Lucasfilm Games or LucasArts that developed and published games. The Lucasfilm Games is a team that has existed for many years and is a part of the company that focuses on collaborating with licensees to help bring the best Star Wars games to fans.
Job listings for Lucasfilm Games have surfaced online indicating that Disney is preparing to revive the long-dead company behind classics such as Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island. The postings, which were initially reported by PCGamesN, started appearing about 10 days ago with jobs ranging from producers and marketing to art directors. While most positions appear to be based out of California, there is one that seems to be targeting an international demographic that requires experience with mobile games in Asian markets.
The job listing for a producer specifically calls for individuals with at least “6+ years of game producing or interactive software development” experience and will be working on interactive products from the beloved Star Wars property, on platforms that including not only mobile but also Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, PC/Mac, and AR/VR platforms. The associate brand marketing manager listing, on the other hand, only details work on PC, mobile, and AR/VR.
It definitely seems the focus is on mobile gaming with AR/VR and PC following closely behind. The emphasis on mobile shouldn’t come as a surprise as many AAA game publishers like Blizzard, Nintendo, and EA have all announced incentives for the platform. AR and VR could be on the rise especially with all the wireless and stand-alone options that companies like Oculus, HTC, and even Nintendo have been announcing. With all that in mind, it seems that Disney wants to release more Star Wars games across all gaming platforms in general, hence its resurrection of Lucasfilm Games.
For those who are unfamiliar with Lucasfilm Games, it was founded by George Lucas in 1982 and transitioned into the more well-known LucasArts, the company behind the critically acclaimed Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, in 1990. LucasArts was shuttered by Lucasfilm in 2013 after 31 years of creating memorable video games. With the company citing a shift “from an internal development to a licensing model” to reduce “the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games.” Since then Lucasfilm has released a variety of Star Wars games across mobile, VR/AR and console/PC.
While the revival of Lucasfilm Games may not be a dramatic shift in strategy for Disney, it certainly reinvigorates hope in those who want to see the return of games like Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic from the company.
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