EA has closed the offices in Japan and Russia which handled operations in those markets. The news comes as part of a recent announcement that EA would be laying off 350 members of its staff in an effort to refine its organization's values.

The original report on the company's Japanese closure came from Famitsu yesterday. The report stated that EA will continue to operate in the Japanese market and support games in that region and that the closure of its Japanese office was part of "the decision to reorganize" its business. We're not sure how many members of staff this particular closure will affect, but EA's original statement says the company is focused on helping those affected to find new employment in the industry which would impact 350 staff members total with all their changes.

Following on from the Japanese office's closure, a report appeared on Russian website Kanobu regarding the closure of EA's office in Moscow. It's a similar story there - the office will be closed as part of the company's refocusing efforts, and EA will be handing over Russian operations to its larger Eastern European team. Again, EA stresses that Russia is an important market for it and that it will continue to sell and support its products in that region. EA later confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that it would indeed be closing its Moscow office but that this would not affect its services in that area. Again, we don't know how many members of staff will need to find new work after the Moscow closure, but we do know that multiple employees of EA's Moscow branch will be taken to its regional Eastern European office as part of the transition.

Where EA goes next after this remains to be seen. Presumably, the company will wait and see what the next quarter holds for it and make appropriate decisions as and when. We'll have more on this as we get it.