COMPUTER GAMING company Electronic Arts (EA) has begun recruitment for up to 200 posts it hopes to create in Galway at a new European customer service and operations centre.
The company, one of the world’s largest in the games industry, expects to open its first Irish base by next year, according to IDA Ireland.
IDA regional manager-western region Jim Murren said that the company was already looking for premises close to the city centre or in the immediate suburbs, and posts were being advertised on its website.
IDA is supporting the investment, and believes it will give a significant fillip to the digital media sector here. Other large gaming companies already operating in Ireland include Activision Blizzard and Big Fish. EA made its announcement on the stock exchange early yesterday.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said that EA was a global leader and the investment was “an important addition to the thriving games industry in Ireland”.
IDA chief executive Barry O’Leary said the company joined a “vibrant digital media sector” here and the investment represented “a key endorsement of the skills and expertise available in Ireland for this sector.”
EA’s BioWare studio, as it will be known, will help the company to “get closer to fans in Europe”, EA and group general manager and senior vice-president Dr Ray Muzyka said in a statement.
“Galway gives us the right mix of solid technology infrastructure and international recruitment opportunities as we continue to focus on bringing the highest quality gaming experiences to market,” Dr Muzyka said.
EA has its headquarters in Redwood, California, and its existing European bases are in Britain, Sweden, Germany, Romania and Spain.
The company was founded in 1982, and “develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the internet”.
Its BioWare subsidiary is responsible for developing titles such as Mass Effect , Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins.
In the most recent fiscal year, EA had revenues of $3.7 billion, with more than 27 of its titles selling more than one million units.
The Galway jobs represent one of a a string of new investments IDA Ireland said were in the pipeline. Last week, telecoms company Telefonica said it would create 100 jobs at its Dublin office as it moves to create a pan-European human resources function.
