Home Gaming Disney Infinity has been cancelled

Disney Infinity has been cancelled

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Disney Infinity (1)

Sad news today for many a fan of Disney Infinity, but glorious news for cash-strapped parents: Disney’s toys-to-life mega franchise Disney Infinity has been cancelled. The house of mouse announced today that they’re putting an end to their “self-published console games business,” with Disney Infinity ceasing any updates from June of this year. That also means that Disney Infinity developer Avalanche Software will be shuttered, with around 300 people losing their jobs.

“By now you may have heard the news that we have made the difficult decision to discontinue production of Disney Infinity,” General Manager John Blackburn wrote on the Disney Infinity blog.

From the beginning, Disney Infinity was built for you—our fans—and I wanted to take a moment to thank you not just for your support over the years, but for creating a community that made Disney Infinity more than just a game. Our goal for Disney Infinity was to bring the best of Disney storytelling to life in homes around the world, and with your support we accomplished that. We hope you had as much fun playing the game as we had making it.

And 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.

But most of all, I want to again thank you for making Disney Infinity a part of your lives—and for adding to the Disney legacy by being a part of this community.

Disney Infinity (2)

In another statement via Venturebeat, Disney cited that “the lack of growth in the toys-to-life market, coupled with high development costs, has created a challenging business model.” Adding even more reasons to that, Disney Boss Bob Iger said in an investors call via Kotaku that “the risk had caught up with” his company and that they were pleased with the success of the first Disney Infinity, but sales went downhill after that. [The video game] business is a changing business.”

We did not have enough confidence in the business in terms of it being stable enough.

It’s tragic, but perhaps a smart move from Disney even though this exit will cost them around $147 million in charges. Over three years, Disney Infinity was fun but the core part of the business, the figures themselves, had been thoroughly milked. And there was only so much a fan could do with the game engine, which had clearly hit a ceiling with the 3.0 edition.

There’ll still be two final playsets released this year: An Alice Through The Looking Glass and Finding Dory pair of licensed games. With Disney Infinity out of the picture, that leaves just three big players in the Toys to Life category: Skylanders, LEGO Dimensions and Nintendo’s uncannily popular Amiibo figures.

Last Updated: May 11, 2016

23 Comments

  1. “And as we turn to the next chapter in our story”

    Oh cool I just love this story, let me turn the page to get to the next chapter because I can’t wait to see what happens next:

    “And then we retrenched 300 people because it wasn’t profitable. The end.”

    WORST ENDING EVER

    Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      May 11, 2016 at 07:48

      No no no! It ends/starts like this:
      “And on Friday the 13th, one of those whom now faced unemployment line, took a goat to the office toilet, sacrificed it to (Insert Dark Lord of Choice here) and thus unleashed Disney Infinity 4.0 Exorcist Edition.”

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        May 11, 2016 at 07:51

        What do you mean… no? DON’T TELL ME HOW TO WRITE MY STORIES!

        Reply

        • Dutch Matrix

          May 11, 2016 at 07:58

          But your stories suck!

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 11, 2016 at 08:10

            You’re mean. 🙁

          • Dutch Matrix

            May 11, 2016 at 08:17

            I was only trying to help. I have hundreds of stories under the belt. Most of them is Trevor Philips & Lara Croft erotic fan fiction, I’ll admit, but experience is experience, you know? And I just want to share…

          • miaau

            May 11, 2016 at 08:24

            I upvoted that, cause was a funny joke.

            If I ever find such fan fiction, I vil be back (haha) and remove the upvote.

            Not the biggest threat, is it?

          • Pariah

            May 11, 2016 at 08:26

            You could always threaten to change it from an upvote to a downvote, and report the comment. That’s more threatening. Kinda.

            Of course we all know you’ll just forget about this along with the rest of us and move on, but that’s not the point.

  2. Strawman Jim

    May 11, 2016 at 08:22

    Sniff! Goodbye Disney Infinity – I will always cherish our precious memories together.

    PS: Still the best Star Wars games this generation.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in New York

      May 11, 2016 at 09:03

      Almost made a milkshake out of you, but then saw you said “this generation”

      Truly sad news

      Reply

  3. miaau

    May 11, 2016 at 08:25

    But, but, my daughter is not old enough to try bankrupt me further (further, cause once I start on the Star Wars figures…..)

    Damn.

    Reply

  4. DragonSpirit009

    May 11, 2016 at 08:36

    I feel really sorry for those who might loose their jobs.

    Reply

    • Greylingad[He Charges!]

      May 11, 2016 at 08:52

      Yep, that saddens me the most…

      Reply

      • DragonSpirit009

        May 11, 2016 at 08:56

        I always hope by some miracle that these companies come up with a plan to help these people keep their jobs.

        Reply

        • Greylingad[He Charges!]

          May 11, 2016 at 09:25

          The unfortunate part is that it would cost them even more in trying to do so, it’s always sad when a studio closes it’s doors, but then again, being agile enough to change scope quickly is not something a studio of 300 people can do…

          Reply

    • Admiral Chief in New York

      May 11, 2016 at 09:03

      *lose

      Reply

      • DragonSpirit009

        May 11, 2016 at 09:05

        Thanks. I tend to get confused with that one… and with the too and to!

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief in New York

          May 11, 2016 at 09:09

          Ag dis orraait, jy is vergewe

          Reply

          • DragonSpirit009

            May 11, 2016 at 09:11

            Kwaai… nou gaan ons sommer braai!

  5. Raptor Rants

    May 11, 2016 at 09:09

    The news of people losing jobs is heartbreaking.

    But once updates cease, will players still be able to play? I don’t know how it works. Is it server locked or will you still play with what you currently have?

    PS: Once development stops, if you can still play I see people milking the figurines they have and selling on ebay for absurd amounts of cash

    Reply

    • Strawman Jim

      May 11, 2016 at 09:41

      You can still play or merely create your own content, but you won’t be able to share it with the world. Fortunately, the game itself isn’t dependent on a server (like so many recent releases).

      Reply

      • Raptor Rants

        May 11, 2016 at 10:44

        ok so that’s good at least. Games come and go all the time so it’s not too bad to stop the franchise if you can still play. No different to buying a standalone SP game.

        Still a big upset for the job losses 🙁

        Reply

  6. Raptor Rants

    May 11, 2016 at 09:18

    ……

    Reply

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