Electronic Arts Inc. is turning to the Baltics in search of programming talent, although instead of outsourcing work there it plans to employ the developers at a subsidiary in Sweden.

EA is looking to hire developers in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to work at its Swedish subsidiary, Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (Dice), where about 220 staff currently work on its "Battlefield" game and other titles. EA, which is based in the U.K., acquired Dice about two months ago.

"We think we can find high quality, talented people in Latvia and the other Baltic countries to come and move to Sweden," said Dice spokesman Peter Hendriksson.

The subsidiary hopes to expand its operations substantially in 2007, perhaps even doubling its current workforce, he said.

The recruitment drive could put more pressure on salaries and available talent in the Baltic countries, where outsourcers and local companies already compete for a limited supply of skilled workers.

"It's not about cost, it's about talent. It's hard to recruit people from the United States and the U.K. to come to Sweden," Hendriksson said, adding that new employees from the Baltic countries would be paid Swedish salaries.

EA needs C++ programmers and 3D graphics artists, he said. While Latvian programmers have been working primarily on outsourcing work for enterprise projects, Hendriksson believes skilled programmers will adjust easily to the requirements of game design.

Dice is in the process of hiring two Latvian programmers and will launch a recruitment campaign soon in Latvia and its neighboring countries, Hendriksson said.

The Baltics are seen as a convenient "nearshoring" location for European IT companies. They are also countries from which IT specialists are prepared to move or commute to Scandinavian countries to work, because of frequent cheap flights and ferry crossings.

» posted by abennett

IDG News Service

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