LucasArts Confirms Layoffs At San Francisco Headquarters

LucasArts has confirmed to Gamasutra that the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II developer and publisher has reduced its staff, following media reports of layoffs at its San Francisco headquarters. After reports at consumer weblog Kotaku that a layoff of a portion of the studio was in place, LucasArts told Gamasutra in an official statement that "LucasArts is reorganizing its teams to better address the needs of the internal studio. " The company explained: "Unfortunately, this means adjusting staffing. LucasArts continues to be committed to creating a first-class internal studio and to fostering relationships with trusted external partners in order to deliver quality games that amaze and inspire fans." This announcement comes only a few months after new LucasArts president Paul Meegan joined the company. Meegan replaced previous president Darrell Rodriguez, who resigned, alongside several other key executives, in May of this year. The privately owned company also lost longtime producer Haden Blackman in July. Blackman was working actively on the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, and said that the departure was to "explore new creative challenges." The game is still currently slated for an October release. However, LucasArts has gained several new key employees this year, including former Ubisoft Montreal creative director Clint Hocking, and Joe McDonagh, who previously acted as a senior designer for Irrational Games on BioShock -- with Hocking confirmed to be acting as creative director over an unannounced project at the firm.