Nintendo

Need for Speed Studio Is Officially Closed [Updated]

Before you start reading please take note that the story has been updated below.

Independently, Black Box Studio was a great studio that produced many great games for one of the industry dominant publishers, EA – which is also a developer. There was a rumor going around that the company had plans to close Black Box Studios because they were having some financial problems.

Now, Black box Studio, responsible for the Need for Speed and the Skate franchises, has officially been given the boot. It was said that the games that EA released this holiday, like Mirrors Edge, Dead Space and Need of Speed, didn’t sell as well as they planned.

“Shutting down the studio is part of EA’s restructuring plan that hopes to save them US$ 120 million in annual costs. Part of the plan is to reduce their overall workforce by 10%, or 1,000 people.” said the press release. There was no word given on if the studios upcoming game Skate 2 has been affected.

[EA has officially closed Need for Speed Studio Black Box via Slice Gaming]

Updated: We had a chance to speak to an EA spokesperson and according to them, “Black box studios is not closed. It is going to relocate to [EA's] Burnaby facility in June 2009.”

More News

• December 8, 2008 -- Skate 2’s Influence By “Drunken Dreams”?
• July 22, 2009 -- Dead Space Devs Jump Ship To Activision
• June 30, 2009 -- EA “Launched Too Many New IPs” In 2008
• March 30, 2009 -- Dante’s Inferno Coming In 2010
• December 13, 2008 -- EA Shelves Plans For New Vancouver Studio
• December 11, 2008 -- Mirror’s Edge Sequel Still Likely
• December 11, 2008 -- Skate To Avoid Tony Hawk Syndrome?
• November 25, 2008 -- Skate 2 Hits In January, Preorder Goodies
• November 1, 2008 -- Skate It This November In The U.S.
• October 23, 2008 -- Army of Two, Dead Space And BF: Bad Company Sequels In Planning