It comes as a surprise, and from out of the blue, but Disney has officially cancelled its Disney Infinity video game series. The once successful toys-to-life franchise is no more, and the same is unfortunately true of its main developer, Disney’s own Avalanche Software.
The news was first reported on Twitter and has since received validation from Disney’s chairman of consumer products and interactive media, Jimmy Pitaro. His words confirm that the House that Mickey Built has decided against continuing on with its Disney Infinity toy and video game line, and will transition to a “licensing model” instead.
With no internal development to worry about anymore, Disney has also decided to shutter Disney Infinity‘s primary developer, Avalanche Software. The studio — which was owned by Disney itself, and employed approximately 300 people — was undoubtedly talented, and our hope is that its employees will land back on their feet in the near future.
I was especially fond of Avalanche as they were responsible for two surprisingly good licensed games based on Disney properties; those being Toy Story 3: The Video Game and Cars 2: The Video Game. On top of that, the first Disney Infinity game was really quite good, as was its most recent outing. Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes, on the other hand, was a disappointment, especially given all that it had going for it.
“This was a difficult decision that we did not take lightly given the quality of Disney Infinity and its many passionate fans,” stated Mr. Pitaro.
As a result of this move, Disney will face a one-hundred-and-forty-seven million dollar charge, which will include cancellation costs, employee severance and other related fees. Its stock is also said to have dropped six percent before the end of the day, because of this decision.
This is all really unfortunate, mostly because so many people are now out of work. All signs also pointed to a continuation of the brand, especially after March’s Disney Infinity NEXT livestream, during which the company revealed its plans to continue supporting Disney Infinity 3.0 for a number of months.
There will be two more releases from the Disney Infinity team, however, with those being three more chapters for the Alice Through the Looking Glass arc and a Finding Dory play set. The latter will be released sometime in June, so keep an eye out for it if you’re a fan and/or collector.
We Got This Covered wishes all of the former Avalanche Software employees the best of luck in finding other positions within the industry.