Joystiq

A handful of folks left jobless in the wake of EA Chicago's closure last November have banded together to form their own independent development studio, Robomodo. The company was actually -- and quiet stealthily we might add -- formed in January 2008 by a number of EA Chicago vets, including Robomodo president and director Josh Tsui, who revealed to GameDaily that the fledgling studio has already been tapped by Actiblizzard to create a new title based on one of the publisher's IP.

As for what exactly Tsui and company are up to, the team isn't talking specifics, saying only that it is a "high-profile extreme sports title," familiar territory for developers who worked on such franchises as Fight Night, Mortal Kombat and Def Jam. Given the group's experience with these sorts of titles, coupled with Tsui's admission in a separate Gamasutra interview that a "good chunk" of those working on the project also helped create Fight Night Round 3 for EA, we wouldn't be at all surprised if Robomodo's plans include trying to go toe-to-toe with their former employers in the ring.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an interview with Robomodo's Tsui and Michicich.