Disney - Game Publisher

Disney as a Game Publisher: A History

Walt Disney Computer Software (1988 to 1994)

Disney entered gaming in 1988 under the name Walt Disney Computer Software. In the early years they worked primarily through licensing deals and publishing alliances with other companies rather than developing in-house. Partners during this period included Capcom, who handled a significant number of Disney-licensed games on NES and SNES, including DuckTales, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, and Aladdin. Those Capcom Disney games are some of the best licensed games ever made and hold up remarkably well today. With the enhancements that were made to the modern releases, they make the games that much more enjoyable.

Disney Interactive (1994 to 2003)

In December 1994 Disney reorganized the division into Disney Interactive, with a staff of 200 employees dedicated to publishing computer and console software. The division started emphasizing in-house development as the industry moved into the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era. They signed deals with Sony Computer Entertainment America and Activision to publish titles based on films like A Bug’s Life and Tarzan. The quality during this period was inconsistent, the highs were decent licensed adaptations, the lows were rushed movie tie-ins that nobody remembers fondly.

Buena Vista Games (2003 to 2007)

Disney rebranded the publishing operation as Buena Vista Games in 2003, retaining Disney Interactive and Buena Vista Interactive as sub-labels. This period saw the division expand across multiple platforms while trying to diversify beyond straight movie tie-ins. The results were mixed. Some titles found audiences, most were forgettable.

Disney Interactive Studios (2007 to 2016)

In 2007 everything was remerged under the Disney Interactive Studios name. This is the era most people associate with Disney as a publisher, and it ended badly. The division made several expensive acquisitions, including Playdom for $563 million in 2010, and struggled to turn a profit consistently. The defining product of this era was Disney Infinity, a toys-to-life game in the mold of Skylanders that launched in 2013 and ran through three versions. Disney Infinity 3.0 was the last entry, and when it underperformed, Disney pulled the plug on the entire publishing operation. On May 10, 2016, Disney announced a $147 million write-down and shut down Disney Interactive Studios, closing Avalanche Software with it. Around 700 employees lost their jobs.

The Licensing Model (2016 to Present)

After 2016 Disney shifted entirely to licensing its IP to third-party developers and publishers. In practice this has worked out significantly better than running their own publishing operation. The results speak for themselves. Marvel’s Spider-Man from Insomniac Games is the best-selling superhero game of all time. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel were critical and commercial successes under the revived Lucasfilm Games label. Kingdom Hearts has been running for over two decades under Square Enix. Disney’s licensed games have received over 150 award nominations in a single year, including multiple Game of the Year nominations for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Marvel Games and Lucasfilm Games

Marvel Games and Lucasfilm Games operate as licensing labels under Disney rather than traditional publishers. They oversee quality control and creative direction on games built around their IP without funding or publishing them directly. The approach gives Disney the upside of major gaming releases without the overhead and risk of running internal studios. Given how badly the internal studio model ended in 2016, it is hard to argue with the results of the pivot.

Disney’s Gaming Legacy

Disney’s history in gaming is a story of two very different eras. The first, from 1988 through the mid-1990s, produced genuinely great licensed games through partnerships with Capcom and others. The second, from the mid-1990s through 2016, was marked by inconsistency, expensive mistakes, and an inability to compete with dedicated game publishers on their own terms. The current licensing model is the right call for a company that makes better content than it makes games. The IP is extraordinary. The internal publishing operation never was.

Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King is a compilation video game that contains updated versions of the games that were released on past…