EA â??continuing to outsource to low-cost areasâ??

Electronic Arts is increasing the workload it places on external staff in low cost areas, a analyst study suggests.

The firm’s Group General Manager Nick Earl explained to analyst Wedbush Securities “how the studios are outsourcing more and more development responsibility to studios in low cost areas.”

The Wedbush report cited the low-cost areas as Shanghai, Melbourne and Montreal.

The move is EA’s latest attempt to plug its alarming revenue leakage. Back in November the firm revealed it would cut 1,500 jobs in a bid to save as much as $100 million annually.

The publisher was recently said to be considering opening a new studio in the US states of Georgia, Lousiana or Florida (where its Tiburon team already resides) as it migrates development teams out of expensive California.

Speaking to Wedbush, Earl also gave “several examples” of developing sequels can lower development costs.

The news comes aptly in the wake of Develop’s special investigation into the overall lowering of development costs.