Electronic Arts has announced the termination of 5% of their workforce, equivalent to around 670 employees, and the cancellation of certain in-development game projects. They are shifting their focus towards developing more games centered around their owned intellectual properties, rather than licensed IPs. This strategic shift also includes a greater emphasis on sports games and online gaming.
The games affected by these changes include:
– The Star Wars FPS Action game by Respawn, originally slated for release in 2022, will now reallocate resources to develop a new game based on Respawn’s own brand (which includes Titanfall and Apex Legends).
– Ridgeline Games, founded in 2022 to work on a story mode for Battlefield, will be dissolved. Some team members will move to Ripple Effect Studios, while studio head Marcus Lehto will depart from the company. The development of the story mode will be transferred to Criterion Studios.
– Mobile games such as Kim Kardashian Hollywood, Lord of the Rings, Tap Sports Baseball, and F1 Mobile will be discontinued in order to redirect resources towards the company’s own branded games as part of their new strategy.
Representatives from EA have confirmed to IGN that projects like Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order 3, Black Panther, and Iron Man from Marvel will not be affected by these new developments. Approximately a year ago in March 2023, EA also announced a workforce reduction of 6%, totaling 775 employees, and the closure of some studios. This trend of layoffs in the gaming industry has been seen across major companies, with Sony cutting 900 jobs and Microsoft letting go of 1,900 employees.
TLDR: Electronic Arts is restructuring by laying off 5% of their employees, canceling certain projects, and focusing more on developing games based on their owned properties. Several games, studios, and mobile titles are affected by these changes, but some major projects remain unaffected.
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