EA Cuts Put Independent Developer Arkane Studios in a Tough Spot

The recent announcement of publisher Electronic Arts' decision to cut six percent of their workforce has also had a ripple effect outside of the company. Arkane Studios, an independent developer with offices in Lyon, France, and Austin, Texas, was collaborating with EA's Los Angeles studio on a AAA game.

For Arkane, the direct consequence was a surprise. The company's chief executive, Raphael Colantonio, tells GameDaily BIZ that before the event, everything was great. "The next morning the team on EA's side was greatly downsized and we were told about the strategic decision and its unfortunate consequence on our collaboration," he says.

Colantonio respect's EA's decison, and says he truly loved working with the company. "They are a great partner." But, he adds, this recent cut is putting his company in a very uncomfortable situation.

"I need to find a deal as soon as possible to reassign the team affected by this event," Colantonio says of the thirty developers who were working on the project.

Arkane Studios is best known for developing first-person RPGs with FPS flair, such as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic for the PC, built using custom technology from Valve Software. Before that the company developed Arx Fatalis, an acclaimed RPG in the classic Ultima Underworld style.

While publisher shifts can also have drastic effects on the independent developers
they work with, Arkane certainly plans to keep pressing forward. Colantonio adds, "Long term, our strategy is the same. We want to work with strong partners on RPGs or first-person games with depth. Ideally both. That's our mission in life...the thing we're most passionate about."