EA has officially announced that they will be laying off 5% of their workforce, or approximately 670 employees. As part of their restructuring effort, they have cancelled the rumored Star Wars Mandalorian first-person-shooter.
Over the last few months, several major companies have laid off hundreds, if not thousands, of workers from across their entire gaming division. Examples include Microsoft, Bungie, Embracer Group, Behaviour Interactive, Riot Games, Sega, Sony, and more. Unfortunately, the amount of layoffs across the industry will likely increase as the year continues.
EA Announces Layoffs of Approximately 670 Employees
A recent article from VGC revealed that Electronic Arts, or EA, has laid off 5% of their workforce. The layoffs have impacted approximately 670 employees. In the crossfire, several companies and in-development games under their banner have been impacted. One such example is a “Star Wars FPS,” which is likely the previously rumored Mandalorian game from Respawn Entertainment.
The unannounced Star Wars Mandalorian FPS would’ve supposedly seen the player “take control of a Mandalorian bounty hunter (unclear who) set during the time when the Galactic Empire is dominating across the galaxy.” The game would’ve focused primarily on “mobility” and “style.” It is likely that the game would’ve had similarities to the beloved Titanfall franchise. Now, it will unfortunately never see the light of day.
That being said, according to another source, EA will still be developing a sequel to the beloved Star Wars Jedi franchise. Additionally, franchises such as EA Sports, Apex Legends, Iron Man, and Black Panther remain mostly unaffected. This also applies to Battlefield, Need for Speed, Dragon Age, Skate, and The Sims remain mostly unaffected. However, it is important to note that several key developers such as Ridgeline Games, a studio dedicated to working on a story-focused Battlefield game, have been affected or even shut down due to the layoffs.
Like with Sony’s recent layoffs, EA’s reasoning for the massive cut to their workforce is due to an attempt to “optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business.” Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this will be the last of the major company layoffs throughout the AAA gaming industry.
