Last year, Disney decided to focus on licensing its IP and get out of game development, closing Avalanche Software, the studio that developed its Disney Infinity game in the process. Today, Warner Bros. Interactive has announced that the former toys-to-life studio has been brought back to life itself, and that it's working on an upcoming Cars 3 title.

The newly reopened Avalanche is being led by John Blackburn, former studio CEO. “It is a tremendous pleasure to welcome Avalanche Software into our development stable, and we look forward to working with our new team, Pixar Animation Studios, and DCPI [Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media] to create Cars 3 based on the upcoming film and hugely popular franchise,” said David Haddad, president, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The Avalanche talent and technology are a great addition to our group of outstanding developers, and we are excited for this Cars 3 game as well as all of the future games the team will create under John’s leadership.”

Avalanche has a track record within the Cars universe, having developed a console game based on the second film. In addition, Disney Infinity featured Lightning McQueen and other characters from the franchise, and developed a playset based on Cars.

Watch our full video interview from 2015 to learn Blackburn's thoughts on the tumultuous licensed games industry.

Our Take

I've been following the studio since I visited them for a Toy Story 3 magazine feature. I've long been impressed by the dedication and passion that the team has brought to family games, and I'm happy to see that they're back from the brink. It will be interesting to see what happens next. Will they be tapped to work on future Lego Dimensions content?