Electronic Arts to lay off five percent of workforce [Update 2: Star Wars first-person shooter canceled]
gematsu.comElectronic Arts will lay five percent of its workforce, the company announced.
The company said it had 13,400 employees as of March 2023 in its most recent annual report, which would put the total number of employees laid off at around 670 people.
In a note to staff, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said the company is “moving away from development of future licensed [intellectual property] that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.”
GamesIndustry.biz reports that one such licensed title has been canceled as part of this plan, and that the teams working on it have been moved to other projects. An Electronic Arts representative also confirmed to the website that both its Black Panther and Iron Man games remain in development.
In 2022, Electronic Arts subsidiary and Star Wars Jedi series developer Respawn Entertainment announced three new Star Wars titles, including the third entry in the Star Wars Jedi series, a first-person shooter, and a strategy game. It is unclear whether any of these are the canceled project referenced by GamesIndustry.biz.
“This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities—including our owned [intellectual property], sports, and massive online communities—to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow,” Wilson explained in his note.
He added that the publisher “deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams,” and that informing people of those impacts has already begun and should be “largely completed by early next quarter.”
Get the full note from Wilson below.
Update 5:30 p.m.: According to an IGN report, Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars first-person shooter was canceled as a result of the reorganization, and the <a www.gematsu.com>2022-established
Battlefield studio Ridgeline Games has been shut down, with some of its staff folded into sister Battlefield studio Ripple Effect. Danny Isaac and Darren White at
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