EA is Laying Off About 670 People

gamerant.com:

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it will be affected by the ongoing trend of mass layoffs, with plans to lay off 5% of its global staff. With a devastating string of major layoffs afflicting the game industry, a climbing number of developers have lost their jobs in just the first few months of 2024. Within the last few days, several other studios have also announced layoffs, with a notable 900 employees being let go from PlayStation.

Mass layoffs have been plaguing game studios for the past year and a half, with around 10,000 developers losing their jobs in 2023. In only the first two months of 2024, the number of layoffs is reaching beyond 8,000, scraping dangerously close to meeting the total number from last year. Even within the last week, a massive number of developers have lost their jobs with layoffs hitting Supermassive, Playstation, and Deck Nine. The unsettling trend has both developers and gamers alike concerned about the future of beloved titles and studios.

Electronic Arts joins the list of affected studios, with cuts to 5% of its global staff totaling about 670 layoffs. As reported by IGN, the cuts will also influence certain games in development, with EA stating that it will be sunsetting certain games to focus on its most successful offerings. CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement to staff that the company will be focused on moving affected employees to new roles and projects where possible. When combined with PlayStation's mass layoff, this week alone will see over a thousand developers losing their jobs.

While EA did not clarify which projects it will be sunsetting, the cancelation of two mobile games, F1 Mobile Racing and MLB Tap Sports, was announced earlier. Wilson’s statement discussed an increased focus on owned IPs, sports, and fostering large online communities, as well as EA’s plans to move away from future licensed IPs. EA has several Marvel and Star Wars titles in development currently, such as its upcoming Black Panther game and a