EA Sports Looks to Austin for New Branch

It seems that COO of EA Sports, Daryll Holt, is in town this week scouting locations for a new studio spot for the franchise. An Austin studio would serve as only the second American location for the gaming giant, with the other stateside studio in Maitland, Florida (working in direct correspondence with EA Canada in Burnaby, British Columbia). With EA Sport's online presence growing every year, it's no surprise that they are looking to expand their workforce.

EA Sports would be the latest of many game developers looking to harness Austin's draw as a city that attracts young talent, perhaps in reaction to key Madden developers leaving in the past few months. With California more inundated every day with tech companies, there aren't many viable technology hubs that are also attractive for young independent developers to get drunk in. This is why Austin was called the second Silicon Valley in the late 90's and early 00's with the influx of dotcom startups and computer hardware companies. Though the name didn't stick (and neither did most of the dotcoms) there seems to be a second wave of technology companies calling Austin home in the past years.

IGN caught the memo before the weekend.