In a surprising move, EA has shut down their Chicago studio and is moving its 150+ employees to other studios owned by them. In a company memo, Frank Gibeau (President of EA Games) mentioned that the reason the studio will be shut down is that it has not been profitable and is not expected to be profitable. What's really strange about the whole situation is that they only started in 2004 and have done just two games, Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon. I don't understand why EA would close down a studio after only two games.

The future of their in-development games (a Def Jam Icon sequel and a Marvel comics fighting game using the Def Jam Icon/Fight Night Round 3 engine) is unknown. However, I do hope the those two games get made because I LOVED Def Jam Icon (the demo at least) and I would love to see a game using Marvel characters made with that same engine. It could be especially fun with all the environmental damage and weapons found in Icon, like throwing people into the car wash or into a gas pump.

If you have a Playstation 3 or an Xbox 360, consider checking out Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon as both games are quite fun.

So, best of luck EA Chicago employees. Hope the closure doesn't hit you too hard.

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