Officials from Electronic Arts have confirmed that the company is closing its Warrington studio in the North West of England, which employs around fifty developers.
Speaking to UK game trade paper MCV, officials stated that the closure was “not for cost reasons”, and that all those affected by the move will be offered roles at the company’s Chertsey or Guildford studios in the South East of the country.
The company claims that the closure was decided upon in order to unify development in the South of the country and reinforce development staff there. The Warrington studio most recently worked on the title
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for consoles, while the closure also follows
that of Digital Illusions CE Canada, responsible for
Battlefield: Special Forces and
Battlefield: Vietnam.
The closure of the Warrington studio also comes only days after Electronic Arts formally
moved its European administrative headquarters from Chertsey to Geneva, Switzerland. The company has committed to maintaining a significant development studio in the UK, though, with the Chertsey studio now headed by former Criterion head Fiona Sperry.
