Game developers EA have announced that it is shutting down their Seattle based studio and moving the majority of its employees to a larger studio in Vancouver.
Electronic Arts has developed such racing titles as "Need for Speed" in the Seattle studios for the past six years. Workers were told of the closure last week, a few days before the highly anticipated Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 was released.
About 20 of the 40 employees will move to Vancouver, the rest lose their jobs.

The studio, which opened about 5 years ago, was the smallest of the company's game studios. This is no doubt a good move for EA, who can now keep their work concentrated in one place instead of scattering development all over the world. EA employs 950 people in Vancouver, the largest game studio operated by EA.
This is surely as massive blow to the gaming industry in Seattle. Future development of Need For Speed titles etc will now probably be shifted to Vancouver instead.