Today, EA announced a major company shake-up that will result in roughly 670 individuals, or 5% of its workforce, losing their jobs. As a part of that same reorganization, Respawn’s Star Wars FPS in-development at Respawn is being canceled.
Following CEO Andrew Wilson’s announcement of the cuts today, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele shared a note with staff explaining in more detail what EA’s business priorities would be going forward. This includes her announcement that EA is shutting down an early development Star Wars FPS action game as a part of an ongoing focus on its own owned brands and supporting its 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,” Miele wrote. “Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus.”
Not much is known about the Star Wars FPS, but it was rumored to feature a Mandalorian protagonist in some way. The fate of EA’s Star Wars strategy game is also unclear. EA is undertaking the move in part due to what it perceives to be a rapid shift toward large open-world games, massive communities, and live service games.
IGN understands that the team previously working on this game will largely be reassigned to other projects including Apex Legends, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Jedi — for which EA has confirmed a third installment. The Star Wars: Jedi franchise will continue, despite EA’s move to focusing on owned IP, and EA is said to remain focused on its long-standing relationship with Disney/Marvel.
The Cuts Continue
Additionally, EA will be restructuring its Battlefield teams somewhat following the departure of Marcus Lehto announced yesterday. It’s sunsetting Ridgeline Games, folding some of its developers into Ripple Effect. Danny Isaac and Darren White at Criterion will oversee single-player work on the series going forward.
And EA also will sunset a number of mobile games, including the already-announced F1 Mobile Racing and MLB Tap Sports, as well as Kim Kardashian Hollywood and The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth – which was released less than a year ago.
IGN understands that EA intends to reorient its business and development plans to focus on a handful of its biggest franchises, including EA Sports, Apex Legends, Star Wars: Jedi, Iron Man, Black Panther, Battlefield, Need for Speed, Dragon Age, Skate, and The Sims. IGN also has learned that a team is still working in pre-production on the next Mass Effect, though Bioware’s current focus remains on Dragon Age.
“It’s not lost on me that these changes are more than words on a page; they directly impact the work you do every day and, in some cases, mean we are eliminating roles and saying goodbye to talented colleagues,” wrote Miele. “I will never lose sight of the human impact of these decisions, and know that change and disruption aren’t easy. In difficult moments, we must remember how important it is to show up for our players and for each other.”
The games industry continues to be rock by layoffs
For the financial quarter ending in December of 2023, EA reported net bookings of $2.37 billion (up 7% year over year) and net revenue of $1.945 billion, largely driven by EA Sports FC and Madden. The company’s layoff of roughly 670 individuals is yet another instance of ongoing mass layoffs rocking the entire industry, impacting roughly 10,000 developers in 2023, and approaching 8,000 in just the first two months of 2024. EA itself already laid off 6% of its workforce almost a year ago, with Wilson at the time citing very similar motivations to this year’s. Despite those layoffs, the total headcount prior to today’s cuts is higher (13,400) than it was during the last mass layoff (12,900).
The company’s SEC filing states that the company will take on approximately $125 million to $165 million in costs in connection with these layoffs, including costs related to office space reductions, severance, and costs related to licensor commitments, likely related to the canceled Star Wars game.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
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