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EA CEO John Riccitiello claims there were multiple factors in the decision to shutter Pandemic Studios, but one of the most significant was the studio's California base of operations. In an interview with Kotaku, Riccitiello blamed a combination of regulatory changes that affect technology and entertainment companies in California, as well as the tax incentives offered in other countries as major factors in the company's decision. "For good or for bad, we are taking down headcount in California because it is really expensive," Riccitiello said.

Another factor in the decision is the rapid growth of digitally delivered titles and browser-based games, leading Riccitiello to believe that the industry is quickly moving away from a focus on "packaged" software. "In a world that used to be all PC, then used to be all console, now it's neither." Riccitiello's comments echo those of Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada, who recently advised publishers to prepare for the "exponential growth" of digital delivery and server-based games following the announcement the studio would restructure its Eidos London offices, resulting in layoffs.

Pandemic Studios' closure comes at an interesting time, as the announcement was made just weeks before the studio's final title: The Saboteur. However, Riccitiello reiterated that the company's brand and franchises will live on.

This morning's leaked footage, purported to belong to a new multiplayer-capable Mercenaries game called "Mercs Inc," just barely beat EA's official announcement of the (working) title to our front page. In development at EA Los Angeles, the latest toy in the destructive sandbox is paraded underneath the Pandemic banner, held aloft by the "core creative team" that survived the physical studio's recent closure. No target platforms have been announced.

According to EA senior VP and group GM, Nick Earl, the swift announcement "demonstrates our continued commitment to Pandemic's rich catalog of intellectual properties." As the press release innocently points out, "Mercs Inc will also be the first Pandemic game" to be released after this December's The Saboteur, the last Pandemic game. Oh, the previous one, we mean.

There's no two ways about it: having your studio shut down does not feel good. However, it does feel good to be a gangsta. Damn good. To prove this ancient adage, some former Pandemic employees put together a little Office Space–inspired video to honor the house that brought us Mercenaries, the Star Wars Battlefront series and the upcoming release, The Saboteur.

Kotaku reports that the mercilessly destroyed printer was, in fact, used by the Saboteur team, giving the video an extra layer of sweet vengeance. A word to EA: if you're missing any red Swingline staplers, we might know where they are. Watch the (very NSFW) video after the break.

Though The Saboteur developer Pandemic Studios is losing its 200-person staff, the company's final game has just "gone gold" across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. In a post on the studio's forums, Community Manager Mathew Everett noted that while "this has been a very difficult week for Pandemic Studios," The Saboteur will still be "available across Europe starting December 4 and throughout North America on December 8."

Unfortunately, it would appear that EA (the game's publisher) has forgotten about said release dates, choosing to offer as little marketing push as possible. We wish the folks at Pandemic Studios the best and offer our condolences to those who recently lost their jobs.

[Via PlanetXbox360]

Pandemic Studios, the house behind games like Mercenaries and the forthcoming The Saboteur will be shuttered by EA today, according to sources speaking to Kotaku. Reportedly, the developer's 200-some staffers will be informed at 2 p.m. EST that all but a few (who will be integrated into other EA teams) are to be let go. Pandemic had previously been rumored as one of the studios that would be hit hardest by EA's 1,500-member staff reduction. Current Pandemic projects will reportedly shift to EA's Montreal branch, which handles Army of Two.

This story, that of a developer who puts their all into a game only to be rewarded with a firing upon its completion, is staring to become alarmingly familiar. Sure, we understand the logistics, but that's cold comfort to those Pandemic employees who may have to start tomorrow off by looking for work. We'll keep after EA for official word.

The Saboteur, Pandemic's latest open-world shooter about a rough and tumble Irish lad bringing color back to Nazi-occupied Paris, showed promise when we played an early build back at E3; but it definitely needed work.

Previewing a current build, I found that development has continued to progress. For one, you won't confuse The Saboteur with any other title this holiday season. The black-and-white landscape (part Casablanca, part Sin City; as lead designer Tom French describes it) is distinctive, with the "City of Lights" living up to its name and various splashes of Nazi-red creeping in among the buildings. The "look" of this game will definitely win some admirers, even if the gameplay doesn't end up quite as polished.

When Irish protagonist Sean in The Saboteur isn't busy, uh, saboteuring, he likes to frequent the local gentleman's establishment, The Belle de Nuit. And about four seconds into the above clip, we totally get why he would: his passion for architecture. Look at the beautiful hanging chandeliers and balustrades in that building and tell us there's any other reason for the dude to be hanging around there. Yeah, we thought so.

After checking out the above video, head into the gallery below for some new screens.

And yes, sneaking around WWII-era Paris as a rogue Irishman with a penchant for chaos does sound good to us. But if this music is any indication of the game's attitude, we're feeling a bit wary about it. There's only so much cliché one can take, folks.

Update: EA would like us to point out that the trailer above is "made for Germany" and thus" had to be softened for their guidelines." We're pretty sure that means more blood and actual Nazis when the game ships Stateside. Er, um, not in Germany at least.

After EA shuttered the Australian arm of Mercenaries dev house Pandemic Studios, a few projects were lost to the ether. A game based on the enormously popular film Dark Knight for 360 / PS3 as well as an "open-world Nintendo Wii game" were both rumored to be on the way from the Brisbane, Australia-based studio.

Australian Gamer has apparently found footage of the Wii title -- said to still be owned by ex-Pandemic Australia employees -- to be called either "The Next Big Thing" or "No Limits Racing" (depending on your interpretation of the footage). The trailer (found after the break) teases a handful of pseudo-celebrity appearances, the ability to turn existing Miis into in-game characters, and show off your high scores on advertisements in friends' game environments.

EA confirmed to us yesterday that the Australian arm of Pandemic is closed, and said of the trailer, "On any given day, there are a lot of great game ideas under consideration at EA ... not all of them go all the way to market."

It's hard to believe, but The Saboteur was announced around this time ... in 2007. Crazy, right? We can hardly believe it's been so long, and since it was announced, we really haven't had much to talk about. Thanks to Tom French of Pandemic, we now know it's because the game was revealed too soon. Sabotaging The Saboteur, amirite?

In speaking with VG247, Pandemic's Tom French said the game is pretty ambitious and that the title was just revealed too soon. At the point where it was announced, most of the title was still on paper, with only a "small section of the world even built." Then, EA acquired Pandemic, which French said really helped The Saboteur out, allowing the team working on it to grow through inheriting people from other projects (he cites folks coming on board from Mercenaries, for example). French said the additions to The Saboteur team have helped "refine all those little details that we've been talking about but nobody had time to touch."

Despite the rumor to the contrary, it appears that Star Wars: Battlefront III is not in development at Pandemic, the studio responsible for the first two games. Just last week an employee from Rebellion -- where Battlefront III development moved after its initial stint at Free Radical -- reportedly stated that development had shifted to Pandemic. According to Mathew Everett, community manager at Pandemic, the game "is not currently" with the studio. He added that only LucasArts would know the fate of the title at this point.

Depending on your point of view, this news is either a terrible blow or a tremendous relief (unless you're just middlin', of course). Given the popularity of the most recent Star Wars title, The Force Unleashed, we imagine Battlefront III will find a home somewhere. Here's hoping Jabba is finally playable.

[Via VideoGamer]

After releasing the first batch of content for free, EA will be going the paid route and deliver a second set of Lord of the Rings: Conquest DLC this Thursday, February 26, to the XBLM and PSN for 800 and $10, respectively.

The "precious" Conquest downloadable content will add three additional characters (including the freakish Gothmog), two new maps and two fancy arenas. But for a game that didn't fair too well in reviews, is $10 worth of downloadable content all that exciting? We doubt Elijah 'would' approve.

Congrats to the crew over at Pandemic on their demo download success, but we have to ask; how well did those demo downloads translate into retail sales? One could argue that those sales figures are a tad bit more important.

Electronic Arts has bid adieu to Pandemic Studios' Brisbane office, according to a "reliable source" speaking to Kotaku. The site reports that the studio has been "set free" and tasked with finding a new publisher, as opposed to being shut down completely.

EA acquired the Australian branch of Pandemic during its acquisition of BioWare last year. The studio is best known for the Destroy All Humans! series, but was rumored to have been working on other unannounced projects. We'll update if any new information arises.

Update: EA's Mariam Sughayer issued the following response: "In December, EA announced a cost reduction initiative that will impact facilities and headcount. We do not expect to make any more public announcements until our earnings call in early February. Outside of our scheduled earnings call, we aren't providing any new information on the status of individual facilities."