The publisher and developer Electronic Arts has announced the layoff of 5% of its payroll, or around 670 people. At the same time, some games are canceled and the offices of some studios are reduced. The employee crisis in video games continues once again.
Source : EA
For several months, there has been a slaughter in the video game industry and more generally in the tech industry: layoff plans are coming one after the other. This time, it's Electronic Arts which is starting to thank a significant portion of its employees: 5% of them, or around 670 people.
A new layoff plan: this time, it's at EA
It is in a wordy press release that Electronic Arts discreetly announces the dismissal of 5% of its staff. Not all teams are affected and not all employees concerned have yet been notified at this time: this will be the case by the start of the next quarter. As CNBC points out, EA employed 13,400 people in March 2023, according to its latest annual filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last May. Which means that around 670 employees will be laid off. Last year, EA had already laid off 6% of its total workforce, although at that time it was lower than today. Based on the company's SEC filings, the plan will cost EA $125 million to $165 million.
A plan that is part of a broader trend in the video game industry. A few days ago, Sony announced it was laying off 900 employees, with its virtual reality division heavily affected. Last month, Microsoft announced that it was dismissing 1,900 people from its Xbox, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard divisions. At the same time, Riot Games launched its own layoff plan affecting 10% of its workforce. A decision that could be difficult to pass on to EA employees. Indeed, the Hollywood Reporter indicated last June that the remuneration of the CEO of Electronic Arts had increased significantly.
Games deleted and canceled by Electronic Arts to better concentrate
This also leads to reorganizations within the studios. Laura Miele, president of the Entertainment and Technology division, clarified: “We will scale down Ridgeline as a standalone studio in Seattle, and some team members will join Ripple Effect. They will continue to work with the teams at DICE, Ripple and Criterion to build the next Battlefield experience. » EA plans to strengthen its position in mobile gaming, while removing from its catalog: Kim Kardashian Hollywood, Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, Tap Sports Baseball as well as F1 Mobile Racing.
Star Wars Jedi : Survivor
EA is also taking advantage of this layoff plan to cancel certain games that were previously in development, since it has fewer human resources. This concerns several studios. For example, the Star Wars FPS that was in development at Respawn is canceled. As IGN notes, “the fate of EA's Star Wars strategy game is also unclear.” EA is making this move in part because of what it sees as a rapid shift toward large open-world games, massive communities and live service games. » The media also indicates that according to its information, the team which worked on the Star Wars FPS “will be largely reassigned to other projects, in particular Apex Legends, Iron Man, Black Panther and Jedi – for which EA has confirmed a third part. » He also indicates that pre-production of the next Mass Effect is still underway.