Pandemic being shuttered by EA today?
Jonah Falcon
Reports are flying that part of the announced layoffs of 1,500 people will
include developer Pandemic, which employs roughly 200 people.
Though still unconfirmed, according to our sources almost all of the studio's
staff (around 200 people) in Los Angeles are to be laid off today, with
those few remaining to be incorporated into other Electronic Arts
development teams. The move is expected to be announced to Pandemic staff at
11 a.m. PT.
The company was purchased in 2007 alongside Bioware on the strength of Full
Spectrum Warrior, Star Wars: Battlefront and Mercenaries, but under EA, it
stalled.
Instead, the company released a succession of lackluster sequels, and took a
body-blow when Pandemic's Australian experiment failed following the
cancellation of the costly - and doomed - Dark Knight game, which resulted
in the closure of Pandemic's Brisbane studio.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5406449/rumor-rip-pandemic-studios-1998+2009
Shawk
It'd be a shame if the rumours are true. The game they've been working
on (The Saboteur) looks interesting
Mr Rob
wrote:
>It'd be a shame if the rumours are true. The game they've been working
>on (The Saboteur) looks interesting
Apparently it has now been confirmed. The good news is that all
Pandemic IP's are safe and will continue to be developed.
According to EA the main reasons for this closure are " intended to
accelerate our transformation to a direct-to-consumer digital model,
and to better manage our cost structure."
--
Rob
Jonah Falcon
http://www.gamestooge.com/2009/11/17/ea-officially-announces-pandemic-closure/
Electronic Arts has confirmed the closure of Pandemic Studios, as expected.
The developer of Mercenaries, Full Spectrum Warrior, and Star Wars:
Battlefront, among other titles, will be "consolidated" with the publisher.
EA says the studio consolidation is intended to "accelerate our
transformation to a direct-to-consumer digital model, and to better manage
our cost structure."
There are some silver linings to the closure, as more focus is being paid to
such games as a new Medal of Honor reboot (which EA is promising is
"stunning") and Command & Conquer 4.
It's also noted that Might and Magic creator Jon Van Caneghem, who recently
"transitioned out" of his role as president of Trion World Networks, has
joined EA to lead the Command and Conquer brand with "a new digital model
that is going to re-ignite the fan base for this franchise."
EA also promises that the popular Pandemic IPs are going nowhere, though 200
or so Pandemic employees will be.
Mr Rob
<jonah...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>It's also noted that Might and Magic creator Jon Van Caneghem, who recently
>"transitioned out" of his role as president of Trion World Networks, has
>joined EA to lead the Command and Conquer brand with "a new digital model
>that is going to re-ignite the fan base for this franchise."
They can "re-ignite" me by making another FPS based in the C&C world.
I loved both the single player and multi-player Renegade games.
An MMOFPS or online Action/RPG based in the C&C world would surely
rake in masses of money.
I really don't understand why, six years later, Planetside is still
the only MMOFPS ever made for the Western market. It's a pretty safe
bet that Planetside 2 will be the next one on the market. I mean a
true MMOFPS. Not any of this weaksauce 16-32 player instanced
nonsense. I mean proper 130v130v130 pure player versus player mayhem
in a genuinely persistent world.
--
Rob
Jonah Falcon
have been a classic.