The Force Unleashed 3 may be canceled

A little over a week ago we learned LucasArts ceased production on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 for PSP. The company did not give a reason as to why the cancellation was necessary. Now sources speaking to Kotaku believe Paul Meegan, the new president of LucasArts, is making radical changes within the company. One of his first orders of business was to cancel The Force Unleashed 3 while it’s still in early development.

The report also says some members of The Force Unleashed 2‘s development team will be let go shortly after the game ships on October 26, 2010. Last month Haden Blackman, the executive producer of The Force Unleashed 2, announced he was leaving LucasArts to “explore new creative challenges.” Blackman’s resignation came almost two months after Meegan took over as president. What’s more strange is that Blackman would leave LucasArts three months before The Force Unleashed 2 releases.

Sources inside the company also said overall morale is significantly lower now that Meegan is in charge. Meegan has reportedly halted production on an unannounced titled pending changes in management.

Additional changes involve LucasArts no longer allowing third parties to develop its properties. This suggests Star Wars themed games going forward will be developed and published by LucasArts.

This report sounds grim, but we can’t be sure of its accuracy until LucasArts releases a statement. LucasArts has seen success with the original Force Unleashed and several LEGO Star Wars titles. Meegan probably believes LucasArts will be in a much better position if all its titles were developed in-house. Whether or not this will lead to redundancies is yet to be seen.

Via [Kotaku] Read [Industry Gamers]