Disney Interactive have confirmed they will no longer self-publish console video games, resulting in an end to development on Disney Infinity and the closure of its developer Avalanche Software.
The announcement came during the companies latest earnings report, which noted that it had a $147m charge due to “the discontinuation of our self-published console games business, principally Infinity.”
Wall Street Journal reports that nearly 300 were laid off as a result of Avalanche Software’s closure.
Disney had “lower results” for Infinity than predicted. Their Consumer Products and Interactive Media division revenue for the quarter decreased by 2% to $1.2bn, while their operating income also decreased 8% to $357m.
Disney Infinity general manager John Blackburn wrote in a blog post that this will have no effect on the final two retail releases still set to arrive.
These sets include three new characters from Alice Through the Looking Glass, due this month, and the Finding Dory Play Set which is coming in June.
Blackburn wrote:
As we turn to the next chapter in our story, I want to thank everyone who helped bring Disney Infinity to life, particularly Disney’s Glendale-based production and publishing teams, our external development partners, and of course the incredible Avalanche team for their tireless dedication to this project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz61FxmTOVM
This doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more videogames based on Disney properties of course – they’ll simply be licensed out to other publishers, just as they’ve done by giving Star Wars to EA.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.