Electronic Arts is laying off 5% of its workforce
Electronic Arts has announced a restructuring plan that will see it lay off approximately 5% of its global workforce.
The company employed 13,400 staff as of March 2023, according to its most recent annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning it could be cutting about 670 jobs.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a letter to employees: “Given how and where we are working, we are continuing to optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business.
“We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.
“This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities — including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities — to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow.
Update
Sources have told VGC that as part of the cuts, EA has cancelled an in-development Star Wars first-person shooter at Respawn.
Announced in 2022, the FPS game was being helmed by former LucasArts veteran and Medal of Honor co-creator Peter Hirschmann, who previously worked on the original Battlefront games, The Force Unleashed and more.
Hirschmann most recently directed 2020 VR title Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.
“Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.”
Wilson said of the layoffs: “While not every team will be impacted, this is the hardest part of these changes, and we have deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams.
“Our primary goal is to provide team members with opportunities to find new roles and paths to transition onto other projects. Where that’s not possible, we will support and work with each colleague with the utmost attention, care, and respect. Communicating these impacts has already begun and will be largely completed by early next quarter.”
EA said the actions associated with the restructuring plan are “expected to be substantially complete” by the end of this calendar year.
GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that EA has cancelled a licensed game as part of this plan. An EA representative told the site that the company’s Black Panther and Iron Man games are still in development.
It was previously announced that Star Wars Jedi studio Respawn was also working on at least two more Star Wars games.
EA announced a similar restructuring plan last March, when it said it would be laying off 6% of its workforce, a move believed to have impacted around 775 employees.
In January, Microsoft announced plans to cut 1,900 staff across Xbox, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard King, representing roughly 8% of its overall gaming division.
And on Tuesday, PlayStation said it plans to lay off 900 employees worldwide, which is also about 8% of its workforce.
Game developer Farhan Noor, who has been tracking job cuts dating back to the start of 2023 on videogameslayoffs.com, estimates that around 10,500 games industry employees were laid off last year.
Less than two months into 2024, Noor’s total for this year sits at 7,800 following EA’s announcement.
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