Need for Speed: Shift News

EA slates Dead Space 2, Epic Games' shooter, mystery fighting and action games for Q1; Dragon Age, EA MMA, Medal of Honor, Dead Space 2 going portable; "something far-reaching for Mass Effect" in the works; Sims 3 scheduled for consoles and handhelds.

Criterion-developed next installment in racing series set for next year; shooter reboot information coming "in the months ahead."

$788 million in earnings can't keep megapublisher out of the red; workforce slashed by 17%, development pipeline cut in half; Need for Speed Shift ships 2.5 million.

[UPDATE 3] Publisher slashes staff by 17 percent to save $100 million annually, to focus on higher-margin titles; reductions at Skate, Madden, and Dante's Inferno devs; over one-third Mythic reportedly pink-slipped.