EA will lay off 1,500 staff by March 2010 and cancel a dozen projects in development in a bid to save money, reports Gamesindustry.biz. Talking to investors, EA CEO John Riccitiello revealed details of the publisher s plan to reduce annual operating expenses by $100 million. Riccitiello referred to the benchmark being used to decide what games and franchises will remain on EA’s slate, saying anything that sold 2 million units or more in recent releases would be in good shape.
The staff cuts were broken down as 900 positions in development, 500 in publishing and 100 at the corporate level. GI.biz says studios believed to be affected by the cuts include Black Box, Redwood Shores, Tiburon and Mythic, with some facilities expected to be completely closed down. Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.
