In its modern form, Disney isn’t just a movie company. It does everything. With multiple streaming services, a vast theme park empire, countless film studios, Disney has so much at its disposal that it’s come under constant controversy and scrutiny over whether or not it’s violated laws related to American monopolies. But one area Disney isn’t as invested in is video games.
Disney's Video Game Downfall Was All About Timing A key problem with the division was perceived to be its heavy reliance on making video games for various Disney movies but failing to release those titles when the films were hot. A good example of this was how a video game based on Aladdin was noted in the article as being a hot upcoming title for Walt Disney Computer Software Inc…but the movie had already come out six months before the piece was published.
Bob Iger Brought Sweeping Changes to Disney A decade passes. Time marches on. Just as the sun rises and sets, so too does a new regime come into power at Disney. The Bob Iger era of Disney brought many sweeping changes to the company. Disney Interactive and its briefly lived successor Buena Vista Games were no more. Disney Interactive Studios would now be the umbrella label for all games published by Disney.
There was one big swing from Disney Interaction in the early 2010s that had the potential to change its approach to in-house gaming forever: Disney Infinity. Building on the popularity of Skylanders, Disney Infinity combined action figures with video gaming and allowed players to combine a slew of different Disney characters in one game. It was an enticing concept, and unlike many other high-profile Disney Interactive projects, this one took off.