14 DAY TRIAL // After NBA Elite 11 has been delayed to next year, with publisher Electronic Arts claiming polishing issues, it seems that the development of the basketball simulation title has been moved to the Tiburon studio of the publisher, with EA Canada laying off about 100 employees.
The rumor has been conveyed to 1UP by a source inside the company and seems to be confirmed by George Broussard, of 3D Realms fame, who has posted on Twitter, “EA Canada lays off 100+. Rumors swirl about global EA layoff in double digit range.”
Representatives from Electronic Arts have confirmed the layoffs, saying that the studio has seen a “relatively small number of job reductions”, which is normal as the studio cycles through projects.
EA Canada has been working on NBA Elite 11 but is also in charge of the NHL hockey simulation series and includes the team from former Black Box that is apparently working on a new Need for Speed game not linked to the current Criterion Hot Pursuit project.
EA Tiburon is well known for the work it is doing on the very important and very successful Madden franchise, which they have handled since the middle of the '90's.
In an effort to plug the game left open in the launch schedule by the delay which hit NBA Elite 11 Electronic Arts has pushed for a wider than initially prepared release of NBA Jam, its more arcade basketball title, which is now getting a disk based retail release on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
It's not clear whether NBA Elite 11 will ever be released or whether the Tiburon team will just start working right away on the version of the franchise that will be delivered in the autumn of next year.
Electronic Arts has announced that NBA Live 10 will be getting a comprehensive update including team rosters and player stats.