BioWare Ireland Open For Business
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EA and BioWare Inaugurate Customer Service Center in Galway, Ireland
With Support From Irish Government, BioWare Creates 200 New Jobs
An Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny T.D. Officiates Opening Day
GALWAY, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioWareâ„¢, a label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art customer service center in Galway, Ireland. The new facility, BioWare's first outside of North America, will provide 24/7 support for Star Warsâ„¢: The Old Republicâ„¢, the award-winning story-driven massively multiplayer online game from BioWare and LucasArts. BioWare Ireland is recruiting another 200 jobs in preparation for one of the biggest game launches of the year. Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released in North America on December 20, 2011 and in Europe on December 22, 2011.
(It's exciting to bring the Galway community into the BioWare family in support of this high-priority launch. This project wouldn't have been possible without the strong support from the Irish government and the strong local mix of technology infrastructure and recruitment opportunities.)
(MMO launches are complex, and we are determined to set a new standard for a high quality, stable, smooth launch for our fans. Our new BioWare facility and team in Galway is critical to ensuring we deliver on that goal,) said Dr. Ray Muzyka, EA Senior Vice President and General Manager of the BioWare Label.
Added Dr. Greg Zeschuk, EA Vice President and General Manager of the BioWare MMO Business Unit, (It's exciting to bring the Galway community into the BioWare family in support of this high-priority launch. This project wouldn't have been possible without the strong support from the Irish government and the strong local mix of technology infrastructure and recruitment opportunities.)
Commenting on the announcement, Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, said, (I very much welcome EA and BioWare's decision to locate its customer service centre here in Galway and the additional 200 jobs announced today. The Programme for Government highlights the digital game industry as a particular priority area for growth and the presence here of EA, one of the world's leading interactive games companies, will help enhance our status as a centre for the digital media sector.)
Welcoming the announcement, IDA Ireland CEO Barry O'Leary, said, (The scale of EA's customer service centre in Galway is a clear endorsement of the skills base in the West of Ireland.)
In addition to the BioWare facility in Galway, EA has a presence in Dublin, Ireland following its recent acquisition of PopCap. BioWare will continue to maintain its studio locations in Edmonton, Montreal, Fairfax (Virginia), Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin (Texas).
For recruitment opportunities in Galway, please visit: www.bioware.com/careers. For more information about Star Wars: The Old Republic, pre-order details and special editions, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/preorder.
About Star Wars: The Old Republic
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been lauded for breaking new ground in the genre by building on traditional MMO gameplay pillars of combat, exploration and character progression, and adding a fourth pillar to the genre story. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, when the galaxy is in the midst of a cold war. Players will be asked to join forces with either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight iconic Star Wars characters: Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Imperial Agent, Sith Inquisitor and Sith Warrior. Every player's story will unfold based on meaningful choices made throughout the game, enabling them to become the hero of their own personal Star Wars saga. Along their journey, players will encounter companion characters with which players can build or break meaningful relationships as they fight at your side. Throughout their adventures, players will be immersed in a vibrant galaxy of planets, engage in heroic battles and experience visceral Star Wars combat.
For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, follow the game on Twitter at http://twitter.com/swtoror (Like) Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook at http://facebook.com/starwarstheoldrepublic.
About Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully-integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company's global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual-effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide; Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties; Lucasfilm Animation, which is currently producing content for film and television, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a CG-animated half-hour television series; and Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties and businesses. Additionally, Lucasfilm Singapore produces digital animated content for film and television, as well as visual effects for feature films and multi-platform games. Lucasfilm's motion-picture productions include three of the 20 biggest box-office hits of all time and have received 19 Oscars and more than 60 Academy Award nominations. Lucasfilm's television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. LucasArts, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game console systems, computers and the Internet. Based in San Francisco, Calif., as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com, LucasArts was created in 1982 by George Lucas to provide an interactive element to his vision of a state-of-the-art, multifaceted entertainment company.
About BioWare
The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality multiplatform role-playing, MMO and strategy games, focused on emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur's Gateâ„¢, Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republicâ„¢, Jade Empireâ„¢, Mass Effectâ„¢ and Dragon Ageâ„¢. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. In 2011 EA created the BioWare Label, alongside EA Games, EA Sports and EA Play. BioWare currently operates in seven locations across the world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California) and Galway (Ireland).
For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/biofeed. To join the millions of fans already registered with the BioWare community, go to http://social.bioware.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company's game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.
In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Simsâ„¢, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speedâ„¢, Battlefield, and Mass Effectâ„¢. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.
