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A look at the studios EA has bought and shuttered

A retrospective look at the studios EA has acquired, opened, and closed in the last ten years paints a scary picture of the future of the industry.

By Frank Caron | Last updated February 26, 2008 10:16

Frank Caron

As Electronic Arts begins its forward assault on adding Take-Two to the list of companies the monolith has swallowed, CVG has taken some time to reflect on the history of EA takeovers. A full list of the absorbed companies has been compiled, and the number in retrospect is staggering:

Studios opened or acquired
  • 1998: EA Tiburon in Maitland, Florida
  • 1999: EA Canada in Burnaby, British Columbia
  • 2000: EA Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California
  • 2002: EA Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • 2004: Criterion Software in Guildford, United Kingdom
  • 2004: Digital Illusions CE in Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2004: EA China in Shanghai, China
  • 2004: EA Montreal in Montreal, Quebec
  • 2005: EA Mobile
  • 2005: EA Redwood Shores in Redwood City, California
  • 2005: EA Singapore
  • 2006: EA Mobile India, Hyderabad, India
  • 2006: EA Mythic in Fairfax, Virginia
  • 2006: EA Phenomic in Ingelheim, Germany
  • 2006: EA Salt Lake in Bountiful, Utah (Formerly Headgate Studios)
  • 2007: EA Casual Entertainment
  • 2007: EIS (European Integration Studio) in Madrid, Spain
  • 2007: BioWare Corp. in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Austin, Texas
  • 2007: Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles, California and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • 2007: EA UK, relocated to Guildford from Chertsey
  • 2008: EA Korea in Seoul, South Korea
  • 2008: EA Studio in Bucharest, Romania
Studios closed
  • 1998: Original HQ in San Mateo, California - moved to Redwood City
  • 2000: EA Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland - established in 1996 as part of Origin
  • 2001: Kesmai (known also as GameStorm); acquired in 1999
  • 2001: Bullfrog Productions in Surrey, England - acquired in 1995
  • 2002: EA Seattle in Seattle, Washington - formerly Manley & Associates, acquired in 1996
  • 2003: Westwood Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada - acquired in 1998
  • 2003: EA Pacific (known for a time as Westwood Pacific) in Irvine, California - formerly part of Virgin Interactive, acquired with Westwood in 1998
  • 2004: Origin Systems in Austin, Texas - acquired in 1992
  • 2004: Maxis in Walnut Creek, California - acquired in 1997, moved to Redwood City
  • 2006: DICE Canada in London, Ontario (created Battlefield 2: Special Forces expansion, Battlefield Vietnam, and all BF2 patches). Acquired DICE fully October 2, 2006; closed DICE Canada studio hours later.
  • 2007: EA Japan in Tokyo, Japan - closed due to consolidation; moved under EA Partners model
  • 2007: EA UK in Chertsey, United Kingdom, relocated to Guildford
  • 2007: EA Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Closed due to failure to meet profit targets.

As Ben alluded to in the original article, an EA takeover of Take-Two would not only give the company control of the upcoming blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV but also the entire sports market. And with the shares that the company has in Ubisoft still lingering in the background, the company could be poised to take over the industry with a few more calculated moves.