EA Los Angeles
From DreamWorks to Danger Close: The studio behind Medal of Honor's early legacy.
EA Los Angeles (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC, later Danger Close Games) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. It was founded on March 22, 1995, as a joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft under the name DreamWorks Interactive. In February 2000, the Los Angeles studio was acquired by Electronic Arts and renamed EA Los Angeles, and to Danger Close Games in 2010. The studio's sole responsibility after 2010 was to develop games in the Medal of Honor franchise. When the series was put on hold in January 2013, Danger Close was shut down, with some staff moving on to DICE LA (now Ripple Effect Studios).
Quick Facts
- Notable titles
- Medal of Honor (2010), Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012)
Lore & Background
DreamWorks Interactive was established on March 22, 1995, as a joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft, with studios in Redmond, Washington, and Los Angeles. Steven Spielberg was primarily responsible for negotiations with Microsoft. The studio's biggest hit before the release of Medal of Honor was Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland, with sales of 130,000 units by August 1997. In 1999, the studio released Medal of Honor for PlayStation, which laid the groundwork for historic war-based combat games. The studio's reputation was hampered by the 1998 release of Trespasser, which sold poorly (reported figures vary) and is considered one of the worst video games of all time. Electronic Arts acquired the Los Angeles studio on February 24, 2000, renaming it EA Los Angeles. In July 2010, EA Los Angeles was rebranded to Danger Close Games to focus on Medal of Honor games. Their first project was the 2010 Medal of Honor, followed by Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012). In January 2013, the Medal of Honor series was put on hold, and Danger Close was shut down.
Reader's Guide
The studio developed Medal of Honor (1999) as DreamWorks Interactive, and Medal of Honor: Underground (2000) as EA Los Angeles. As Danger Close Games, it developed Medal of Honor (2010) and Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012). The studio did not develop Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.
More in Production & Legacy
Elsewhere in Medal of Honor
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