EA announced yesterday that is opening up a new design studio in the grand old city of Chicago. It's downtown at 215 West Ohio Street, but I imagine those of you who live in Chicago heard about long before I did. In any event it's there and it's proving to be an arm of EA that is rapidly growing in size. The EA Chicago branch already has 150 people on staff and the number is expected to be increased by another 100 by next year. The design team located there is already response for the [i]Fight Night[/i] series which was carried under the label of the EA Sports franchise and are currently bustling away to develop games for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 such as [i]DEF JAM: ICON[/i]. The placement of the design studio in Chicago means that EA is able to draw on prospective employees from the nearby area which putting public transportation in easy reach as well as access to the eateries in the vicinity.

Kudo Tsunoda, the VP and GM of EA Chicago offered this statement: "We are pushing next generation development and technology to the limits and looking for the best talent to help us to create innovative games.” and that "We are in a great location downtown in a unique building that gives us access and visibility to the best resources and creative minds of this thriving city."

Mayor Richard Daley was also asked for a statement regarding this and he spake thusly: "One thing that sets Chicago apart from many other cities is our diverse workforce, which can meet the needs of just about any business." He also added that “EA Chicago will create new jobs and add to Chicago's reputation as a global center of innovation.”

Nick McCavitt at nmccavitt@forumwizard.net