BlackBox hit by layoffs

Unfortunately, not all news are always good news. EA BlackBox, the studio responsible for this year's Need For Speed: The Run and the first Massive Multiplayer Online Racing Game in the NFS series (Need For Speed: World), was hit with layoffs while the studio goes through a transformation. Here's the official quote:

[quote]"EA in Vancouver is transforming its studio to align with EA's transformation to high-growth digital formats, including online, social gaming and free-to-play," an EA spokesperson told IndustryGamers. "The Need for Speed World team in Burnaby is leading the digital transformation with 11 million registered players. As the BC studio makes this transformation, a small number of employees are being impacted while most others are being retrained, redeployed and rolling-on to new projects."[/quote]

EA has recently reported a net loss of $205 million in the third quarter, but is seeing significant positive transformation in increased digital product sales.

We at NFSUnlimited.net wish our best to all the employees who were affected by this situation, and we hope they can get a job in the near future.