Disney to Lay Off Hundreds of Employees in Interactive Unit

[Redfairen]

Source: Variety

Further cuts are coming to Disney’s Interactive group, with several hundred people expected to be laid off, as early as this week.

The staff reductions are expected to come mostly from Disney’s Playdom, which produces games for social media platforms, sources confirm to Variety. Disney Interactive also runs Disney.com and produces mobile games, including the franchises “Where’s My Water?” and more recent “Where’s My Mickey?”

Disney purchased Playdom in 2010 for $563 million, but the company has struggled to release a string of successful franchises since then, although “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” has performed well.

Instead, Disney has scored with new properties like “Disney Infinity,” essentially its version of Activision’s “Skylanders,” which combines the use of physical figures and videogames. “Disney Infinity” has sold more than 3 million copies since it debuted in August.



Read more: http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/disney-to-lay-off-hundreds-of-employees-in-interactive-unit-1201084716/

[IrishAle]

1. They aquired a lot of talent..

.. When they purchased the StarWars franchise. I believe that LucasArts was part of the deal.

[NobodyHere]

2. They let go a lot of talent

Last edited Wed Feb 5, 2014, 07:52 AM - Edit history (1)

LucasArts was in turmoil before Disney bought them. After the sale Disney laid off most of the employees. LucasArts is really only a publisher now with a very small number of employees. Most Star Wars games now are licensed to third party entities (mainly Electronic Arts) or developed by Disney.