Mobile and social gaming company PopCap, which joined EA last year, has warned that around 50 US-based employees will lose their jobs as the result of a reorganisation. An ‘exploratory consultation’ is also evaluating the future of the company’s Dublin office.
In a blog post, co-founder John Vechey said “In the past year, we’ve seen a dramatic change in the way people play and pay for games. Free-to-play, social and mobile games have exploded in popularity. There’s also an economic component to the reorganization. To stay in business, we need to manage costs, improve efficiency and maintain a profit. We’ve been able to invest in creative new games like Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies because we had a high profit business. That business is challenged, and if we don’t adapt, we won’t be able to invest in new IP. That sounds harsh - but if we don’t stay in business, no more plants, zombies, jewels, frogs or worms.”
Mr Vechey also noted that the reorganisation decision was made entirely by PopCap, adding “If we didn’t have EA behind us, the cuts would have been worse.”