EA Closes Chicago Development Studio

November 6, 2007 - Electronic Arts confirmed today that it has closed its 150-employee Chicago studio as part of its overall restructuring plan to trim about 350 jobs and return to profitability.

In a memo sent to studio workers, EA president Frank Gibeau gave kudos to general manager Kudo Tsunoda but said that, despite its rising costs, the studio was not on track to be profitable until 2011.



"Within the EA Games Label, we are committed to running each franchise and facility as a city/state, teams with unique creative identities as well as responsibility for product quality, ship dates and profitability...." Gibeau said. "Unfortunately, EA Chicago hasn't been able to meet that standard....Closing EA Chicago is the toughest decision I've made in my career - one that in no way reflects on the talent and dedication of the people who work there."


Notable games developed or under development at EA Chicago include the Def Jam series, the Fight Night series and an upcoming Marvel fighting game. The Fight Night series has already been moved to an EA studio in British Columbia, but EA spokesman Jeff Brown told IGN the company is not yet making any announcements about the future of the Def Jam or Marvel games.

IGN attempted to reach Tsunoda by e-mail but had not received a response at the time of this writing (the studio's phones are already disconnected). Despite the closure of his studio, the industry vet isn't out of a job at EA.

"Kudo is one of the brightest visionaries at the company, and he's got no shortage of offers to work at other [EA] studios," Brown said. "He's not decided what he'll do yet."

Many of the Chicago studio's 150 employees will be placed at other EA locations, and those who are not will receive severance pay and help finding another job.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/833/833024p1.html