Junction Point, the Studio Behind Disney Epic Mickey, Is No More

@umdesch4: I'm really glad you posted that, because now I'm trying to comprehend how Deca Sports could've sold 2 million units.

@iAmJohn said:

That's sad, but certainly not surprising.

EDIT: Now that I've stolen the quest from someone, allow me to take issue with this part of the story:

Unfortunately, neither game yielded strong sales

Now I have no idea how well Epic Mickey 2 did (and I can't imagine it did well after the first game), but Epic Mickey is a game that sold a million and a half fucking units in its first month and Disney still called it a disappointment. How is that possible or remotely sane? It screams less of Junction Point failing to deliver (well, sales-wise, at least; let's not get into the qualitative aspect) and more of Disney having completely unrealistic expectations about games and expecting to make infinite Call of Duty style money and balking when it didn't happen instantaneously. Or, to put it another way, Disney is a shitty, badly managed company and this blood is completely on their hands. Just like Propaganda and Black Rock.

Also, while it is unfortunate for them, for the industry in general I am happy when mediocre to bad games don't sell well. And the Wii U version was a disgrace, if the QL was any indication.

Make better games, this is how capitalism works we can't have a cry each time a developer that isn't profitable goes down.

Considering how lackluster the Epic Mickey games were I suppose it's not that surprising.

Too bad to hear this on Junction Point studio, best of luck to everyone affected by this.

@notdavid: No shit, so many studios are dropping.

@paulunga said:

@jewunit said:

Not Warren Spector! Where does he go from here?

Honestly, wherever he wants. He's Warren fucking Spector. He should join Ken Levine at Irrational and get to work on a new Thief.

The next Thief is being made by Eidos Montreal I believe... and they also made Deus Ex HR. Maybe he should go there.

@paulunga: Yeah, it's sad to see another studio close but the idea that Warren could potentially make games not under the Disney name is an exciting thought.

@iAmJohn said:

but Epic Mickey is a game that sold a million and a half fucking units in its first month and Disney still called it a disappointment.

1.5 million sales on a Wii exclusive? Geez, that's pretty amazing. How much better could they possibly have expected it to sell? That's ridiculous. For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Wii_video_games

@jewunit said:

Not Warren Spector! Where does he go from here?

Honestly, wherever he wants. He's Warren fucking Spector. He should join Ken Levine at Irrational and get to work on a new Thief.

Are all developers now under some sort of probation these days? There's been so much of: make a game, it sells okay, make a sequel, not good enough, you're all fired.

I know it's a business, but shouldn't there be a middle ground between success and failure?

Warren seems like a guy who genuinely loves all things Disney and it's a shame that his games and their sales numbers didn't reflect that. Good luck to him and everyone else at Junction Point.

@Alex said:

These changes are part of our ongoing effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace and to align resources against our key priorities.

Does Disney see the business world as a game of Warhammer 40K? Because that would explain a lot.

Maybe Warren will land somewhere that will use him better

Wow, it's bad a bad start for this year of gaming. So many closings and buy outs. Hopefully these developers find other jobs in the industry.

I'm running out of 40s to pour out.

@jewunit said:

Not Warren Spector!

Honestly, I hope now he can go make a game I'm more interested in.

DAMN YOU VIGNOCCHI!

Not Warren Spector! Where does he go from here?

That's sad, but certainly not surprising.

EDIT: Now that I've stolen the quest from someone, allow me to take issue with this part of the story:

Unfortunately, neither game yielded strong sales

Now I have no idea how well Epic Mickey 2 did (and I can't imagine it did well after the first game), but Epic Mickey is a game that sold close to a million and a half fucking units in its first month and Disney still called it a disappointment. How is that possible or remotely sane? It screams less of Junction Point failing to deliver (well, sales-wise, at least; let's not get into the qualitative aspect) and more of Disney having completely unrealistic expectations about games and expecting to make infinite Call of Duty style money and balking when it didn't happen instantaneously. Or, to put it another way, Disney is a shitty, badly managed company and this blood is completely on their hands. Just like Propaganda and Black Rock.

Confirming rumors that began to swirl yesterday, Disney Interactive Studios has confirmed today that Junction Point Studios, the Austin, Texas based development house behind the Disney Epic Mickey series, has been closed.

Initially rumors simply began via Twitter feeds acknowledging the closure of the studio, but confirmation from Disney remained nonexistent. Today, Disney released an official statement confirming the closure and acknowledging the studio's contributions to the Disney brand.

It was with much sadness that we informed our teams today of changes to our Games organization, which include the closure of Junction Point Studios. These changes are part of our ongoing effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace and to align resources against our key priorities. We're extremely grateful to Warren Spector and the Junction Point team for their creative contributions to Disney with Disney Epic Mickey and Disney Epic Mickey 2.

Founded in 2005 by former Ion Storm heads Warren Spector and Art Min, Junction Point was purchased in whole by Disney in 2007. In 2010, the studio released its first game, the Wii-exclusive Disney Epic Mickey, followed by 2012's multiplatform, coop-focused sequel, Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. Unfortunately, neither game yielded strong sales, and with Disney now squarely focused on its new Infinity initiative, Junction Point didn't exactly seem to fit into the publisher's current scheme.

According to Polygon, Junction Point housed as many as 160 employees as of early last year. No word yet on how many of those employees were still in the mix as of today's closure.