The Sims studio EA Salt Lake hit with layoffs, shifts to mobile

Electronic Arts has laid off part of the staff at its Salt Lake City, Utah office as it shifts to mobile development.

"EA Salt Lake is becoming largely focused on mobile development, including ‘The Sims’ and other projects," EA said in a statement. "Recent shifts unfortunately resulted in the reduction of a few teams. As we look to match skills with opportunities, some staff will be offered other positions at EA, while others will leave the company."

Sources told IGN that 40 employees are moving to Maxis in California, 35 had been laid off, with an estimated 20 from EA All Play. EA's All Play label is dedicated to digital games, with a focus on mobile and social games, like Real Racing 3.

Some EA mobile games have been hugely profitable for the publisher. The Simpsons: Tapped Out generated 130 million in digital net revenue through the third fiscal quarter of 2013. In its latest earnings call, EA also reported a net loss of $308 million for the quarter.

"I hope we’ll see some new startups rise—that’s a talented group of people there," former head of EA Salt Lake Jon Dean, who has now formed his own independent gaming studio in Utah told The Salt Lake Tribune. "They’re smart and they could easily do their own thing."

Yesterday we reported at layoffs at another EA studio, Ghost Games UK, which developed Need for Speed: Rivals.