Job losses at EA Canada and Black Box
Studios restructuring to focus on digital games and services
EA has confirmed it is restructuring its Vancouver operations, and cutting a small number of jobs in the process.
"EA in Vancouver is transforming its studio to align with EA's transformation to high-growth digital formats, including online, social gaming and free-to-play," a company spokesperson told IndustryGamers.
"As the BC studio makes this transformation, a small number of employees are being impacted while most others are being retrained, redeployed and rolling-on to new projects."
After recent financial results revealed that EA's Steam rival Origin made $100 million in 2011, the company was keen to justify the job losses and point to its recent successes in the digital market.
"Employees in our BC studio are learning new skills and working on digital games and services, and there are many examples," continued the statement.
"Developed at the EA Sports studio in Burnaby, the FIFA Soccer franchise represents the cutting edge of AAA gaming integrated with multi-platform extensions and online features. The Need for Speed World team in Burnaby is leading the digital transformation with 11 million registered players."