Amid yet another wave of gaming industry-related layoffs, Electronic Arts has cancelled Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars FPS, while EA has also announced another round of staff layoffs numbering in the hundreds.
Yesterday evening, the gaming industry was rocked by another layoff-related bombshell, EA would be cutting the cord on over 600 jobs as part of an “accelerating industry transformation where player needs and motivations have changed significantly.” The report comes from IGN and details that not only has EA cut 5% of its workforce, but they’ve also slammed the door on the Star Wars FPS they announced with Respawn Entertainment back in 2022. Although the Star Wars FPS has been officially cancelled, Electronic Arts has assured fans the next Jedi series game, as well as the Iron Man and Black Panther titles in development, are still safe.
CEO Andrew Wilson said in a note to staff, “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. Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom,” regarding the layoffs, while also confirming EA is “moving away from the development of future licensed IP.”
The layoffs will number at 670, or approximately 5% of the total Electronic Arts workforce. Electronic Arts has also announced that they will be shaking up their team on the Battlefield franchise following Director Marcus Lehto’s exit. When they say shakeup, they mean the complete shutdown of Ridgeline Studio. Marcus Lehto took to X (formerly Twitter) to lament the loss of his former team.
Electronic Arts joins a staggering group of huge gaming industry titans who have terminated hundreds of employees this year. Embracer, Riot, Microsoft, Sony, and many more have been affected by the gaming industry’s turbulence, and job security is at an all-time low. Currently, layoffs in the gaming industry have numbered over 6000 jobs lost since January 2024, which is already past the halfway point for all of 2023 (which numbered ~11,250). Fans can head over to the full message from EA CEO Andrew Wilson or head over to the Farhan Noor layoff tracker to see how many jobs have been affected in the gaming industry since 2022.
