In a statement released, the ESA has announced, “We can confirm that LucasArts is no longer a member of the ESA.” However, LucasArts will still be attending the premier Economic Software Association (ESA) event, E3.

Despite the departure, Rich Taylor, Senior Vice President of Communication and Research for ESA said, “We are confident the industry will continue to thrive and ESA will continue to create a beneficial environment for the entire entertainment software industry."

This follows the news, just two weeks ago, that Activision and Vivendi games will also not be renewing their membership to the ESA. In addition, Activision and Vivendi revealed they will not be participating in E3, stating “business reasons” and will be likely to hold their own unofficial event around the same place and time.

The ESA runs the popular media and business summit E3. Just last year, however, the event became invitation-only, causing attendances to decline from 60,000 to about 5,000. The ESA was founded in 1994 and contains 25 current members, including many of the industries big names, including Microsoft, SCEA, SOE, Nintendo, EA, Capcom and Ubisoft.