Well we all know EA has been shedding studios like their no tomorrow they recently closed Visceral Games in Melbourne. But it would appear that EA is not done making cuts and is looking to shed another studio. That studio's name is Bright Light Studios most well known right now as EA's Harry Potter studio having created the two latest installments in the Harry Potter gaming franchise.

But the studio does have a rich history originally EA picked up Bright when it was called Bull Frog and was a PC games developer in 1995.They were famous for their hits Dungeon Keeper, Theme Park, Populous, and Syndicate. Recently we heard that Syndicate is making a come back on 360/PS3 as an FPS title. The original Bull Frog studio was merged into the larger EAUK and closed in 2001. But that wasn't the end of the studio after the closure the studio was re branded as Bright Light Studios.

EA's Tiffany Steckler said "After a review of all current and future projects, Electronic Arts has started a formal consultation process with its Bright Light employees over the proposed closure of the studio," following with "The proposed changes will help centralize development on future projects, reduce development costs and will allow for better knowledge and talent sharing within the organization,"

Unlike staff laid off at some other studios Steckler suggests many of the staff will be relocated to another studio. However EA's only other major studio is Criterion the studio behind Burnout. She says "the UK is a vital center of game development for EA and we intend to maintain a strong presence here."

Well it appears another major studio is about to bite the dust. Any guesses as to why it is EA making all these cuts and studio closures? Are they really struggling for money or are these decisions being made to make room for new studio acquisitions and the formation of new studios? I mean Bright Light created some pretty big IP and worked on Harry Potter they've gotta be worth something. I also wonder if EA may be taking an approach against licensed software like other major publishers have been doing recently.

What are the motives behind this closure? Is this the last EA studio that will close in the near future or should we expect further closures?

Source

It was a shame to see such a rich and wonderful book/film series turned into such a mediocre game series by these guys. I'm not really sad to see them go.

The Lego Harry Potter game has been solid (can't wait for Years 5-7), but I'd also like to see quality games set in the legitimate Harry Potter universe.

While I wouldn't (necessarily) want Nintendo to acquire this studio, I do wish Nintendo would acquire some of the studios other publishers are closing and/or set up their own studio where these ones are closing (to leach off the experienced developers). It may sound excessive, but with how long it takes to make a game for the HD consoles and with the diversity of games Nintendo should be making, Nintendo could probably use an additional 18 (or more) studios to focus on exclusive games for the Wii U.

The early Harry Potter games were good fun as they were only loosely based on the plot of the film. the later ones were utter rubbish, that studio is unlikely to be missed much.

Is that meant to say 'only major studio in the UK', as I can think of several other major EA studios.

thats f'd up

I agree, but that is part of my reasoning behind starting with a "troubled" studio ...

For a wide variety of reasons a development team can underperform, and these are not (necessarily) based on the lack of talent or skills in the development team. Hypothetically speaking, this team could be demotivated because they're developing licensed "crap" on a shoestring budget and tight schedule; or be dealing with poor management decisions and/or a soul crushing corporate culture. It is plausable that Nintendo could pick up a developer like this and with minimal cuts have a core-team which is very respectable; and then pick up the additional talent they need to make this a AAA developer over time.

They are located in the same building as Criterion, so i would believe they are getting rid of the bright Light name and all the studios employees would be most likely currently working on I would assume to be either the Burnout or N4S game, or another unannounced ip.