Today marks a big step for EA on its path to new games based on its newly acquired Star Wars license. The publisher has revealed that it's Stockholm-based DICE studio has opened up a Los Angeles office to work on the franchise.

Locating in southern California was no accident according to DICE general manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson. "It's no secret that our main competitor is there," he told the Wall Street Journal. This should certainly heat up the competition between Battlefield and its chief rival, Activision's titanic Call of Duty franchise.

For Troedsson, working on Star Wars titles is an exciting prospect. His studio shares the same level of anticipation. "People stood up and cheered, when I announced that we were working on Star Wars," he stated. Fans might be cheering along with them if DICE decides to expand on an existing franchise (Battlefront would make the most sense), a plan that is under consideration.

This news comes shortly after EA's annual financial results were released, along with word that Frostbite 3 was ready to support titles next-gen from BioWare, Visceral, and DICE (some of which we will see at E3). Last week, the studio revealed it had laid off 10 percent of its global workforce (approximately 900 people). At that time, inquiries regarding the allocation of those cost savings were met with coy responses. Opening a new studio and bringing in top tier talent for one branch of the EA's Star Wars planning puts the operating expense picture for 2014 into clearer focus. EA also was clear that no Star Wars titles should be expected during fiscal year 2014, which ends on March 31, 2014.

[Source: Wall Street Journal via Joystiq]

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