EA Black Box (formerly Black Box Games) was a video game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1998 by former employees of Radical Entertainment and later acquired by Electronic Arts (EA). The developers are primarily known for the Need for Speed and Skate series. It was renamed Quicklime Games during the development of Need for Speed: World, but after a series of restructures it was shut down in April 2013.
History
Black Box Games had previously developed for game publishers such as Sega, Midway Games, and EA. In June 2002, during the development of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, the firm was acquired by EA and became an entirely owned subsidiary of EA Canada. As a result of the acquisition the studio's name was changed to EA Black Box. In March 2003, the firm lacked space for their current projects and as a solution the top four floors of an office tower in downtown Vancouver were used for expansion. In March 2005, EA Black Box became an independent studio from EA Canada, but still owned by EA.
On December 19, 2008, EA announced that it would be shutting down EA Black Box's Vancouver studio location and relocating operations to EA Canada's Burnaby facilities, as part of EA's worldwide consolidation plans. Officials stressed that EA Black Box would remain open, and said they expected the move to be completed by June 2009. The studio remained a part of the EA Games label, and was independent of the EA Sports studio also located within the Burnaby facility.
In February 2012, EA confirmed a number of lay-offs at EA Canada and EA Black Box, and that they were transforming the studios towards "high-growth digital formats, including online, social gaming and free-to-play". EA declined to comment on whether EA Black Box's brand would remain.
In July 2012, EA Black Box was renamed Quicklime Games during the development of PC game Need for Speed: World, under which name it operated until its closure in April 2013.
Responsibility for the Need for Speed franchise was taken over by Ghost Games in late 2013.
Games developed +YearTitlePlatform(s)NotesAs Black Box Games2000NASCAR 2001PlayStationPlayStation 2NHL 2KDreamcast2001NHL Hitz 2002GameCubePlayStation 2Xbox2002Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2PlayStation 2NHL Hitz 2003GameCubePlayStation 2XboxSega Soccer SlamGameCubePlayStation 2XboxAs EA Black Box2003Need for Speed: UndergroundGameCubeMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 2XboxNHL 2004GameCubeMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 2Xbox2004Need for Speed: Underground 2GameCubeMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 2XboxNHL 2005GameCubeMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 2Xbox 2005Need for Speed: Most Wanted GameCube Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox Xbox 3602006Need for Speed: CarbonGameCubeMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 2PlayStation 3WiiXboxXbox 360Need for Speed: Carbon - Own the CityPlayStation PortableAssisted Team Fusion2007NBA Street HomecourtPlayStation 3Xbox 360Need for Speed: ProStreetMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 2PlayStation 3WiiXbox 360SkatePlayStation 3Xbox 3602008Need for Speed: UndercoverMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 3Xbox 360Skate ItNintendo DSAssisted Exient EntertainmentWii2009Need for Speed: ShiftMicrosoft WindowsAssisted Slightly Mad StudiosPlayStation 3Xbox 360Skate 2PlayStation 3Xbox 3602010Need for Speed: WorldMicrosoft WindowsSkate 3PlayStation 3Xbox 3602011Battlefield 3Microsoft WindowsAssisted DICEPlayStation 3Xbox 360Need for Speed: The RunMicrosoft WindowsPlayStation 3Xbox 360As EA Jawbreaker2015Battlefield HardlineMicrosoft WindowsAssisted Visceral GamesPlayStation 3PlayStation 4Xbox 360Xbox One
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