EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Burnaby, then EA Canada) is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts's largest and oldest studio. EA Vancouver employs approximately 1,300 people, and houses the world's largest video game test operation.[1] It is best known for developing a lot of EA Sports and EA Sports big titles, including EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), NHL, SSX, NBA Street, NFL Street, EA Sports UFC, and FIFA Street titles. As well as a number of NBA Live and NCAA Basketball titles between 1994 and 2009.

EA Vancouver
Company typeDivision
IndustryVideo games
Predecessors
Founded1991; 33 years ago (1991) (as EA Canada)
Headquarters,
Canada
ProductsNHL series (1991–present)
EA Sports FC series (2023-present)
FIFA series (1993–2022)
SSX series (2000–2012)
NFS series (1994–2000, see EA Black Box)
Skate series (2007–2010, see EA Black Box)
Number of employees
1,300
ParentElectronic Arts (1991–present)
Former headquarters of Bight Games, later made an office of EA Canada, the property then sold off

Premises

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The campus consists of a motion-capture studio, twenty-two rooms for composing, fourteen video editing suites, three production studios, a wing for audio compositions, and a quality assurance department. There are also facilities such as fitness rooms, two theatres, a cafeteria, coffee bars, a soccer field, and several arcades.

History

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EA Vancouver is a major studio of the American gaming software giant Electronic Arts (EA) which has many studios around the globe. EA, based in Redwood City, California, had acquired Distinctive Software in 1991 for $11 million and renamed Distinctive Software to EA Canada. At the time of the business acquisition, Distinctive Software was noted for developing a number of racing and sporting games published under the Accolade brand. Since becoming EA Canada, EA Canada has developed many EA Games, EA Sports, and EA Sports BIG games.

EA Seattle, formerly Manley & Associates, was closed in 2002. Half the jobs were moved to EA Vancouver.[2]

EA acquired Black Box Games in 2002 and Black Box Games became part of EA Canada under the name of EA Black Box. EA Black Box later became an independent EA studio in 2005. After its acquisition, EA Black Box became the home of several franchises, such as Need for Speed and Skate. The studio was later shut down in 2013, after a series of restructurings and layoffs within EA.

In 2011, EA Canada acquired Bight Games, a maker of freemium games.[3]

Games developed

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Year Title Platform(s)
2011 FIFA 12 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Fight Night Champion PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NBA Jam: On Fire Edition
NHL 12
2012 FIFA 13 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
FIFA Street PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Grand Slam Tennis 2
NHL 13
SSX
UEFA Euro 2012 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2013 FIFA 14 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NHL 14 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2014 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
EA Sports UFC PlayStation 4, Xbox One
FIFA 15 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NHL 15 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
2015 EA Sports UFC Android, iOS
FIFA 16 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NHL 16 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
2016 EA Sports UFC 2 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
FIFA 17 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
FIFA Mobile Android, iOS, Windows Apps, Windows Phone
NHL 17 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2017 FIFA 18 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NHL 18 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2018 EA Sports UFC 3 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
FIFA 19 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NHL 19 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2019 FIFA 20 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
NHL 20 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2020 EA Sports UFC 4 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
FIFA 21 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Stadia
NHL 21 PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2021 FIFA 22 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Stadia
NHL 22 PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
2022 FIFA 23 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
NHL 23 PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
2023 EA FC 24 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
NHL 24 PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
EA Sports UFC 5 PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X

EA Graphics Library

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EA Graphics Library or EAGL is a game engine which was created and developed by EA Canada. It is the main engine used in some of EA's games, notably the Need for Speed series, and was also used in a few sports titles from EA Sports.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and Need for Speed: Underground used the first version of the EAGL engine, (EAGL 1) Need for Speed: Underground 2 uses EAGL 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Need for Speed: Carbon uses EAGL 3, Need for Speed: ProStreet and Need for Speed Undercover uses EAGL 4; Need for Speed Undercover uses a modified version of EAGL 4 and combines it with the Heroic Driving Engine.

Need for Speed: World uses a modified EAGL 3 engine with the physics of the earlier games with an external GUI programmed in Adobe Flash.

During the development for Need for Speed: The Run, EA Black Box dropped its custom engine and adopted Frostbite 2 engine.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Electronic Arts". EA. 2013-05-09. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22.
  2. ^ "Electronic Arts closing Bellevue game studio". 22 October 2002. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  3. ^ Takahashi, Dean (August 15, 2011). "EA acquires mobile game developer Bight Games". VentureBeat.
  4. ^ Yossarian King (December 19, 2011). "Opinion: Why On Earth Would We Write Our Own Game Engine?". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
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