Disney Shuttering 'Disney Infinity' Developer as Part of a Game-Publishing Exit

Returning to a licensing model.

It's been several years since Disney denounced game-licensing, a move which the media giant followed up by announcing their own game platform in the form of 'Disney Infinity.' Of course, 'Disney Infinity' ultimately became a console dependent toys-to-life franchise. After three main releases and countless figures and playsets and other accessories, Disney announced today to investors an end for both 'Disney Infinity' and developer Avalanche. The close of the studio is part of a move by Disney to end their game-publishing business. As we've seen with EA's huge 'Star Wars' licensing deal, which has already brought about a very successful new 'Battlefront,' smarter licensing can still be viable for Disney's huge stable of properties.

While 'Disney Infinity 3.0' is now the last mainline release, several new playsets based off of upcoming items like 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' and 'Finding Dory' will still be released. That appears to be it, however, as playsets based on 'Star Wars: Rouge One' have now been cancelled.

Disney leaving game-publishing isn't all that earth shattering considering the previous focus on 'Disney Infinity' and both the 'Star Wars' licensing deal and the licensed re-release of several classic Disney titles. The apparent end of 'Disney Infinity,' however, is meteoric. The move clearly indicates a lack of faith on Disney's part in the toys-to-life segment.

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Source: GamesIndustry.biz