EA is expanding its operations in Austin, Texas, the company announced today. The expansion will come in the form of a new studio for EA Sports, to complement its Florida and British Columbia development houses. This follows reports from last month, when EA Sports COO Daryl Holt said he was visiting the Texas capitol to assess a potential space for the studio.

The new studio will add 300 jobs, half of which will be full-time positions and the other half contract workers. Texas Governor Rick Perry took the opportunity to sell developers on Texas during the press conference. "Thanks to our low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, fair legal system and skilled workforce, we continue to attract companies from around the nation," Perry said.

"We're really excited about it," said EA Games president Frank Gibeau. "Austin is a terrific place for us to do business. Frankly we just love building games in Austin. We are continually searching for the best talent in the industry and the best locations for our operations. Governor Perry's leadership in passing the Texas Moving Image Production Incentive has created an economic environment that is very supportive of game development. Texas is a great place to make games - that's why EA is expanding here."