EA to lay off 5% of its workforce, cancels Star Wars game

Game developer/publisher Electronic Arts (EA) announced it will lay off 5% of its current workforce, about 670 employees, just a day after the SIE layoffs were announced.

EA shared a letter written by company CEO Andrew Wilson sent to all the employees. It states said, “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. Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.”

The letter by Wilson does not specify the affected game studios. However, a letter written by Laura Miele, President of EA Entertainment and Technology, gives some more specific details. About the game being developed by Respawn, EA said, “we have decided to pivot away from early development on a Star Wars FPS Action game to focus our efforts on new projects based on our owned brands while providing support for existing games.” Miele also referred to mobile games announced earlier this month that will come to an end. “Over the past few weeks, we have announced we are sunsetting Kim Kardashian Hollywood, Lord of the Rings, Tap Sports Baseball, and F1 Mobile.” Some of the people that worked for those games may be among the 670 employees to be laid off.

Changes were also announced at Battlefield Studios. “Marcus Lehto recently made a personal decision to leave the project. To ensure our work continues uninterrupted, we immediately appointed leadership at Criterion to oversee our single-player work. As part of this change, we’ll be winding down Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle, with some team members joining Ripple Effect. They’ll continue to work with teams across DICE, Ripple, and Criterion as they build the next Battlefield experience.”

Check out the entire emails at the links below.

[Source]: EA: Continuing to evolve our business and teams – [Archive] – [Screenshot]; A note from Laura Miele, President of EA Entertainment and Technology – [Archive] – [Screenshot].