EA abandons Vancouver studio plans
Publisher cites economic "uncertain times" as jobs are lost in the city
Electronic Arts has pulled out of a year-long plan to add a new studio in Vancouver, citing "uncertain times for our industry," and has already leased the new 20,000 square foot space to another tenant.
The new building, which was to have housed its existing staff, would have added to the Black Box studio in downtown Vancouver and EA Canada in Burnaby, but it's now been shelved in the publisher's recent cost-cutting plans.
"These are challenging times, they're uncertain times for our industry and across the board," said EA spokesman Colin Macrae in The Globe and Mail. "We continue to be firmly rooted in Vancouver."
However, it is understood that some of the job losses announced recently by EA will be in Vancouver, although no details were forthcoming.
The company's share price was down by almost 15 per cent across last week following those announcements.