EA Canada logo
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Division of Electronic Arts | |
Industry |
Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
Predecessor | Distinctive Software Inc. |
Founded | January 1983 |
Headquarters | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
Products |
NHL series (1991-present) FIFA series (1993-present) Need for Speed series (1994-2011, see EA Black Box) Skate series (2007-2010, see EA Black Box) SSX series (2000-2012) |
Owner | Electronic Arts |
Number of employees
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1300 |
Parent | Electronic Arts |
Website | eacanada |
EA Canada (also known as EA Vancouver) is a video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983 and is Electronic Arts's largest and oldest studio. EA Canada employs approximately 1,300 people and houses the world's largest video game test operation.
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 called EAt, coffee bars, a soccer field, and several arcades. The building is situated next to Discovery Park.
EA Canada is a major studio of the American gaming software giant Electronic Arts (EA), which has several studios around the globe. EA, based in Redwood City, California, acquired Distinctive Software in 1991 for $11 million and renamed them 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, it has developed many EA Games, EA Sports, and EA Sports BIG games.
EA acquired Black Box Games in 2002 and it became part of EA Canada under name EA Black Box. It later became an independent EA studio in 2005. Since its acquisition, EA Black Box has been home to the Need for Speed franchise, among others.