Globex Opens LA Office With Pandemic Veterans

Chinese online game company Globex Studios has opened a new development branch in Los Angeles with a number of veterans from recently closed Electronic Arts developer Pandemic Studios. Globex Studios LA will act as its parent company's North American development and project management arm. Founded in 2005, Globex Studios's operations include development, publishing, localization, outsourcing, marketing, and more. The company also has offices in China and Taiwan, and expects to expand to over 100 employees at its three locations by the end of the year. Carey Chico, formerly executive art director of Pandemic Studios, will work as president and chief creative officer at the new LA studio. Globex Studios LA's staff collectively boasts more than 100 shipped console and PC games, including Pandemic releases like Star Wars Battlefront and Mercenaries. Electronic Arts closed down Pandemic's physical studio and reportedly cut around 200 employees last November as part of a round of layoffs and restructuring. The pubisher saw its losses widen to $391 million in its second fiscal quarter and plans to cut some 1,500 jobs by April 2010. Other industry veterans leading Globex Studios LA include game designer, director, and producer Troy Dunniway serving as vice president of game development; and game product development and publishing expert Jesse Taylor in the roles of chief technology officer and chief operating officer. Globex Studios is currently working on a slate of MMORPGs based on original IPs that target the Chinese market but are designed with a global appeal in mind. The company says its looking to leverage its "U.S.-based project expertise together with the efficiencies of international production execution", and will initially target online gaming audiences in China and the U.S. "In launching Globex Studios LA, we saw a future success path for the games business that will result in products that are conceived, made and marketed with high levels of quality, efficiency and cultural relevance," says Globex Studios LA president and CCO Carey Chico. He continues, "We are advancing with the industry and, as companies seek the right mix for distributed development/production and access to the cost benefits and growth of regions like China, we will be benefiting from the best of both." "In addition to exploring new paradigms for development, Globex Studios is also well positioned for the transition happening in today's industry from a 'game as product' to a 'game as service' market, with online games as a major focus."