Electronic Arts, the company behind titles like Madden NFL and Apex Legends, said today that it will be laying off five percent of its workforce and stopping development on other titles. The news is part of a trend of downsizing that has resulted in thousands of jobs being lost in the gaming and IT industries.
In a Tuesday securities filing, EA stated that the layoffs are a component of a larger restructure intended to support “strategic priorities and growth initiatives.” In the same paper, EA stated that it also intended to decrease the amount of office space it uses. While Epic Games let off 830 workers in September of last year, EA laid off 800 staff. Tencent’s Riot Games said in January that it would fire eleven percent of its employees, while Microsoft announced that it would eliminate 1,900 positions from its Activision Blizzard and Xbox game departments.
Sony said on Tuesday that it will eliminate 900 positions globally, or 8% of its staff. According to EA’s May 2017 annual report, the corporation employed 13,400 people. This implies that 600 jobs might be lost as a result of the present downsizing. In addition to the layoffs, CEO Andrew Wilson sent out a letter to all employees explaining the publisher’s reorganization. This entails ending the development of some projects and sunsetting some active service names.
EA CEO Wilson on the layoffs
Wilson said that in order to provide “deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom,” EA is reorganizing to become more efficient. In order to redirect its development resources, he claimed the corporation would stop using licensed intellectual property and shutter several of its titles.
Wilson in a letter said
“We are also sunsetting games and moving away from the 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.”
Wilson continues by discussing the scope of the layoffs and how they would affect the affected employees:
“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.”
The reorganization should be finished by the beginning of the next quarter. According to Video Games Chronicle, Respawn’s planned first-person shooter for the Star Wars universe is one game that will not be developed. President of EA Entertainment Laura Miele said, in part, in a statement to VGC,
“It’s always hard to walk away from a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team’s talent, tenacity, or passion they have for the game. Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus.”
