Electronic Arts to Open Game Studio in Los Angeles

Will be working with Disney to make new Star Wars games

Electronic Arts Inc., fresh off announcing it cut 10% of its workforce to trim costs, is investing in a new Los Angeles studio for its Stockholm-based DICE game developer with the goal of poaching talent from rivals like Activision Blizzard Inc.

The DICE unit, purchased by EA in the middle of the last decade, will be a key cog in the creation of a new series of Star Wars videogames. Walt Disney Co. announced last week that it enlisted EA to make Star Wars games weeks after closing its LucasArts games division.

DICE, also known as Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment, has historically worked from Stockholm, where it started operations in 1992 by creating a pinball game that achieved a cult following. From there, it built its megahit Battlefield games and became a jewel in the EA portfolio of assets.