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EA Closing More Studios
Looks like Electronic Arts is at it again: PopCap’s Vancouver studio has reportedly been shuttered. Our condolences to those affected.
The buzz making its way around Twitter has the studio shut down entirely. Reached for comment, a PopCap representative denied our inquiry (“We’re not commenting on any of the changes that were made at PopCap today.”). A representative for parent company Electronic Arts referred us to the generic statement below and also denied a request for comment on which teams and locations are affected.
In recent weeks, EA has aligned all elements of its organizational structure behind priorities in new technologies and mobile. This has led to some difficult decisions to reduce the workforce in some locations. We are extremely grateful for the contributions made by each of our employees – those that are leaving EA will be missed by their colleagues and friends.
These are hard but essential changes as we focus on delivering great games and showing players around the world why to spend their time with us.
PopCap Vancouver was primarily responsible for making hidden object games for casual platforms like Facebook. The studio was part of the 2011 acquisition of PopCap by EA, valued at $650 million plus another $100 million in stock options.
We’ll update this story with additional information as it becomes available. Please join us in hoping that the people who lost their jobs today land on their feet.
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