Pandemic Studios Closed

[GamerMan316]

Rumour: RIP Pandemic Studios, 1998-2009



taken from Kotaku

Pandemic Studios - the developers behind Star Wars: Battlefront and Mercenaries - will today be closed down by owners Electronic Arts, according to several sources close to the situation.

It's not the first time we've heard this - far from it - but we had previously been unaware of the timing of the move.

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.

Pandemic were first formed in 1998, and for a while there, seemed to be on the verge of becoming one of the world's premier development houses. Following on from the success of Full Spectrum Warrior, Mercenaries and Star Wars: Battlefront, they were purchased in 2007 by Electronic Arts, where things should have been on the up and up.

Instead, the company released a succession of lacklustre 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.

It's believed Pandemic's remaining IP (including The Saboteur) will be passed onto EA's Montreal studio (Army of Two).

Remember, as of yet, this is all unconfirmed; we'd expect an official announcement on the closure later today. We've contacted Electronic Arts for an official statement and will update this post when and if they respond.

[Failed]

Mercenaries is a bit MEH! but Battlefront .... nOOOoooOOOOo!

[nCogNeato]

That's a shame.  I really enjoyed Mercenaries and Battlefront.  Destroy All Humans was pretty fun too.

Despite the blind hate EA receives from various fanboys, EA is one of the most successful businesses in the industry.  That's not an accident.

Hopefully the staff at Pandemic continue to make good games elsewhere.  And hopefully EA doesn't end up killing the few successful IPs Pandemic brought to them.

[sambo]

Full Spectrum Warrior was a great game, Loved Star Wars Battlefront as well. It's never pleasing to hear of developers being closed down.

[GamerMan316]

Official: Pandemic Studios to close
'Core IP team' at Saboteur, Mercenaries house moved to EA LA

Earlier reports that Mercenaries and Saboteur developer, Pandemic is to close its doors have been confirmed, after an internal Electronic Arts memo leaked onto the internet. Sad news.

The memo (via Gamasutra) confirms that Pandemic founders Josh Resnick, Andrew Goldman, and Greg Borrud will leave the company - though its brands and franchises will live on internally at EA.

"A reduction in the work force at Pandemic" is reported to see around 200 employees culled, with the remainder of the Pandemic team reporting to EA Los Angeles from now on.

"I want to make it clear that the Pandemic brand and franchises will live on," writes EA SVP Nick Earl in the internal memo. "In the months ahead, we will announce plans for new games based on Pandemic franchises."

EA said the studio consolidation is intended to "accelerate our transformation to a direct-to-consumer digital model, and to better manage our cost structure."

Under the new model, EALA will become a "showcase for the 'fewer things better'" initiative, it says, once again confirming "a re-invention of the Medal of Honor franchise with a new design that is simply stunning," as well as the hiring of Might and Magic creator Jon Van Caneghem to lead the Command and Conquer franchise with "a new digital model that is going to re-ignite the fan base for this franchise."

Electronic Arts acquired Pandemic in October 2007 in the same $800 million deal that saw it net RPG power house BioWare. It only took it two years to shut it down, then... a new EA record?

[nCogNeato]

What could have been.

[Handshakes]

Game looks generic as all get out, but I dig the placeholder voice overs. I wonder how awkward it was asking Sally the Pandemic office secretary to say "if Katie Couric can screw her way to a pulitzer, I'm not about to play nice".

Kind of a neat look at the alpha stages of a big budget title.