Redwood City, Calif. - A group of former developers from Electronic Arts on Tuesday announced the formation of an independent game development firm, Sniper Studios. The team includes president, CEO and co-founder Matt McKnight, who worked at EA for 11 years on titles like "Madden NFL," "James Bond 007" and "NCAA Football," in addition to former EA staffers Jeff Hasson, who will serve as general manager, and Ted Fitzgerald, who becomes Sniper's vice president of production and business development. The company's first deal is a yet to be announced title for Sega of America that it slated for release in 2007.