One of the largest layoff waves has just happened at Electronic Arts, as the publisher has confirmed that multiple studios are affected. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the layoffs are in the hundreds, and multiple projects have also been canceled as part of the massive restructuring process.
“As part of our continued focus on our long-term strategic priorities, we’ve made select changes within our organization that more effectively aligns teams and allocates resources in service of driving future growth,” said EA spokesman Justin Higgs in a statement to the press.
According to Schreier, between 300 and 400 staff from EA development studios have been let go. Other than Respawn, its unclear what other teams and projects have been affected by the latest changes.
Respawn Entertainment independently confirmed the layoffs in a social media post as well, and it's reported that around 100 staff from the Apex Legends, Star Wars Jedi, and Titanfall series maker have been let go as well. Even two gaming projects the studio had begun work on had been canceled entirely.
"As we sharpen our focus for the future, we’ve made the decision to step away from two early-stage incubation projects and make some targeted team adjustments across Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi," added Respawn. "These decisions aren’t easy, and we are deeply grateful to every teammate affected—their creativity and contributions have helped build Respawn into what it is today. We’re offering meaningful support to those impacted, including exploring new opportunities within EA."
Per the Bloomberg report, one of the canceled projects at Respawn had been set in the highly acclaimed Titanfall universe. Codenamed R7, it was to be an extraction shooter experience, stepping away from the single-player campaign and arena shooter elements from the fan-favorite previous entries.
6 Comments - Add comment