Ever since Simon Jeffrey abruptly left the company on October 9 of last year, LucasArts has been without a president. That changed yesterday, when Jim Ward was appointed to the position atop LucasFilm"s game subsidiary. Ward is a seven-year veteran of the LucasFilm organization, acting as its head of marketing and distribution. He will retain that responsibility while adding the LucasArts role to his portfolio.
Ward"s adventure got a little more exciting today as LucasArts announced a follow-up to the top-selling and critically lauded Knights of the Old Republic. Prior to today"s announcement, the company had little to cheer about--layoffs last month saw the deletion of 29 jobs at LucasArts, and before that, the cancellation of the sequel to the company"s likable Sam & Max Hit the Road game was revealed.