Last month, Electronic Arts shocked many in the industry when it announced deep layoffs in the publisher. That also included the shut down of its developer Pandemic Studios in Santa Monica, California. EA had purchased Pandemic (along with BioWare) just two years ago for a ton of money. Why shut down the offices now? Kotaku reports that EA's CEO John Riccitiello said a big reason was money. According to him, "For good or for bad, we are taking down headcount in California because it is really expensive."

He states making games in California has turned into a costly proposition compared to other parts of the world and that it didn't make economic sense to have Pandemic located just 10 miles away from EA's large Los Angeles studio. Some of Pandemic's team members have since moved to EALA where they are working on games with the Pandemic brand like the just announced Mercs Inc.