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EA Chicago Studio To Close

Posted by Zonk on from the less-fights-more-nights dept.

Geoff Keighley, who is guest-editing Kotaku this week, has the official release from EA that their Chicago studio is closing. The 150 employees that used to work at the site are trying to be placed throughout the rest of the EA structure, while the games on tap for development there are currently on hold. The release is fairly terse when describing the reason the studio is being closed: "Each team is responsible for staying on a reasonable path to profitability. Sticking to that strategy is what gives us the financial resources and flexibility to take risks on new projects. Unfortunately, EA Chicago hasn't been able to meet that standard. The location has grown dramatically in the past three years while revenue from the games developed there has not. The number of employees has grown from 49 in 2004 to 146 people currently in the new facility in downtown Chicago. As it stands, EA Chicago has no expectation of hitting our profitability targets until FY2011 or later."

7 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. I'm confused by DarkMantle · · Score: 4, Funny

    It says in the memo that they have 146 employees. But in the articles opening paragraph that they have 150+. If that's how they count, no wonder the physics for the vehicles in BF2142 are off.

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    DarkMantle I been bored, so I started a blog.
    1. Re:I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      You mean Battlefield 2150+.

  2. Gee, that's a shame. by rob1980 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now where will people in Chicago have to go for 100 hour work weeks?

    1. Re:Gee, that's a shame. by the_humeister · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now where will people in Chicago have to go for 100 hour work weeks?


      why, almost any medical residency of course! nothing like overworked, sleep-deprived medical professionals taking care of your health!
  3. Re:Could see this coming.. by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

    I hear the developers at the Miami branch were executed.

  4. Translation: by Cinnamon · · Score: 3, Funny

    They didn't develop buggy games and slam them out the door fast enough. Let this be a lesson to the rest of you: Make crap faster.

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    -- If we were in any other industry they would've shot us a long time ago.
    1. Re:Translation: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      That's why they closed EA Chicago.

      Now they can afford to open EA Chennai, EA Bangladesh, EA Bangalore, EA Delhi and EA Beijing.

      But remember, it has nothing to do with being cheaper and having less labor laws to deal with. It's because they're far smarter and better educated than anyone who worked in EA Chicago because there are no smart or hard working people left in this country!