EA today let IndustryGamers know, after a source told us of layoffs, that its Vancouver studio is undergoing a "transformation" and a certain, unspecified number of employees are unfortunately being laid off as a result. EA has categorized it as a "small number" of staff. Vancouver is home to the EA Canada and Black Box (known for Need for Speed) studios.
An EA spokesperson provided us with this statement:
“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. Employees in our BC studio are learning new skills and working on digital games and services, and there are many examples. Developed at the EA SPORTS studio in Burnaby, the FIFA Soccer franchise represents the cutting edge of AAA gaming integrated with multiplatform extensions and online features. The Need for Speed World team in Burnaby is leading the digital transformation with 11 million registered players. 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.”
EA just completed a solid quarter with sales on the rise and losses narrowed. The company continues to push digital hard, and reached the important $1 billion digital revenues milestone.
