New DICE studio opens in L.A. to focus on Star Wars titles

Electronic Arts has opened up a new DICE studio in Los Angeles to focus on the development of new titles based on the Star Wars franchise, DICE general manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson told the Wall Street Journal (as reported by Gamasutra).

The new California studio is expected to grow to a full 60 employees by the end of 2013. This move places DICE directly in the Southern Californian territory of its competitor Treyarch, Troedsson noted.

"There is an extreme talent pool over [there] that we want a part of," he said. "It's no secret that our main competitor is there."

Last week EA announced an exclusive multi-year agreement with Disney to develop and publish titles based in the Star Wars universe. The upcoming DICE-developed Star Wars titles will be powered by the Frostbite 3 engine, the same used for Battlefield 3.

The studio has already begun hiring and is currently working with a number of former EA employees who previously worked on the Medal of Honor series.