EA considering Atlanta studio

EA is 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.

According to a report in the Atlanta Business Chronicle EA is still looking at ways to grow its studio business, albeit in a cost-effective manner; the publisher last month announced plans to layoff over a 1,000 developers.

The firm would have to invest millions in the new base, with Atlanta, Georgia a potential location for a new centre that could house around 300 staff.

The state of Georgia offers a tax credit to local games companies – and MMO firm EVE already boasts a US facility in the region.

“The tax credit is definitely one of the things that attracted us to Georgia,” said EA’s corporate spokesperson Jeff Brown.

“If we can find an abundance of talent and a pipeline through a local university that gives us access to talent in both art and engineering, that’s where we start. The rest of it is really a cost equation.”