Electronic Arts is laying off 5% of its workforce
It plans to focus more heavily on “owned IP, sports, and massive online communities”
Electronic Arts has announced a restructuring plan that will see it lay off approximately 5% of its global workforce.
The company employed 13,400 staff as of March 2023, according to its most recent annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning it could be cutting about 670 jobs.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a letter to employees: “Given how and where we are working, we are continuing to optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business.
“We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.
“This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities — including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities — to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow.
Update - Star Wars FPS canned
Sources have told VGC that as part of the cuts, EA has cancelled an in-development Star Wars first-person shooter at Respawn.
Announced in 2022, the FPS game was being helmed by former LucasArts veteran and Medal of Honor co-creator Peter Hirschmann, who previously worked on the original Battlefront games, The Force Unleashed and more.
Hirschmann most recently directed 2020 VR title Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.
Update 2 - EA confirms
EA Entertainment president Laura Miele has confirmed the cancellation of the Star Wars FPS.
“Respawn‘s unique ability to connect with players and create exceptional game experiences is unrivaled in entertainment,” she said in a statement. “As we’ve looked at Respawn’s portfolio over the last few months, what’s clear is the games our players are most excited about are Jedi and Respawn’s rich library of owned brands.
“Knowing this, we have decided to pivot away from early development on a Star Wars FPS Action game to focus our efforts on new projects based on our owned brands while providing support for existing games.
“It’s always hard to walk away from a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team’s talent, tenacity, or passion they have for the game. Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus.”
Update 3 - Battlefield studio closed
EA has closed Ridgeline Games, the studio formed in 2021 to work on a future Battlefield single-player game.
The Seattle-based studio was established in late 2021 and has been staffing up for its debut project, which was described as “a narrative campaign in the Battlefield universe”.
Last week it was confirmed that the studio’s co-founder, Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto, had departed the company for apparent personal reasons. Lehto reacted to the news on X on Wednesday, suggesting he was unaware of plans to close Ridgeline.
“Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.”
Wilson said of the layoffs: “While not every team will be impacted, this is the hardest part of these changes, and we have deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams.
“Our primary goal is to provide team members with opportunities to find new roles and paths to transition onto other projects. Where that’s not possible, we will support and work with each colleague with the utmost attention, care, and respect. Communicating these impacts has already begun and will be largely completed by early next quarter.”
EA said the actions associated with the restructuring plan are “expected to be substantially complete” by the end of this calendar year.
GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that EA has cancelled a licensed game as part of this plan. An EA representative told the site that the company’s Black Panther and Iron Man games are still in development.
It was previously announced that Star Wars Jedi studio Respawn was also working on at least two more Star Wars games.
EA announced a similar restructuring plan last March, when it said it would be laying off 6% of its workforce, a move believed to have impacted around 775 employees.
Further reading
EA says it’s going to ‘double down’ on a handful of ‘massive online communities’
In January, Microsoft announced plans to cut 1,900 staff across Xbox, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard King, representing roughly 8% of its overall gaming division.
And on Tuesday, PlayStation said it plans to lay off 900 employees worldwide, which is also about 8% of its workforce.
Game developer Farhan Noor, who has been tracking job cuts dating back to the start of 2023 on videogameslayoffs.com, estimates that around 10,500 games industry employees were laid off last year.
Less than two months into 2024, Noor’s total for this year sits at 7,800 following EA’s announcement.
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