Electronic Arts has changed the name of Westwood Irvine to EA Irvine, paying no reference to the fact that Westwood, the parent of modern real-time strategy gaming, founded the California studio.
This follows news that Westwood lost some key staff members in recent times, not least Command and Conquer creator Eric Yeo. As EA continue to shuffle staff, faith in the company’s ability to maintain relationships with external developers is dwindling.
In other news, rumour is rife that EC chief recently turned up at EA San Diego and told staff that the company will be closing the office. This has not been confirmed but is in keeping with EA’s policy of centralisation.