Games maker EA to cut 1,500 jobs

Beatles: Rock Band was one of the biggest games releases so far this year

US video game maker Electronic Arts (EA) has said it is cutting 1,500 jobs.

The cuts, in addition to the 1,100 jobs already shed this year, came even as EA bought social gaming company Playfish for $275m (£170m).

EA, which makes the Rock Band series, also reported a net loss of $391m in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $310m in the same period last year.

The job losses are part of a restructuring plan to shift the company's focus to blockbuster games.

The layoffs are expected to save about $100m a year, EA said.

Playfish makes free games for social networking sites - such as Facebook and MySpace - and mobile phones.

Digital content such as that makes up about 12% of EA's revenue.

Although that area is growing, industry sales from traditional video games are declining.

"We are focusing on what works and what matters," said chief financial officer Eric Brown.