The layoffs and budget shrinking at Electronic Arts are forcing partner Arkane Studios to look for another publisher for its projects.
The economic downturn seems to have struck EA, which recently announced the firing of six percent of its staff and a $310 million dollar loss in the second quarter.
Independent developer Arkane Studios has, by association, had to rework its strategy for dealing with the loss of support from EA, its partner in the development of an upcoming, big-budget project.
“I need to find a deal as soon as possible to reassign the team affected by this event,” said Arkane CEO Raphael Colantonio, who has to act fast to retain his own employees.
Word of EA’s financial trouble came as a surprise to Colantonio, who was under the impression that everything was running smoothly. “The next morning the team on EA’s side was greatly downsized and we were told about the strategic decision and its unfortunate consequence on our collaboration,” he commented.
Aside from the business problems, the company is creatively intact. “Long term, our strategy is the same,” explained Colantonio. “We want to work with strong partners on RPGs or first-person games with depth. Ideally both. That’s our mission in life…the thing we’re most passionate about.”
The official status of the unknown Arkane/EA deal isn’t known, but at this point it is clearly under stress if not canceled.
Source: GameDaily
