Highlights
- EA to lay off 670 employees with a focus on moving affected staff to new roles and projects where possible.
- Sunsetting of certain games to focus on successful offerings and owned IPs.
- Trend of layoffs in game industry due to overzealous hiring, COVID-19 impact, and lack of industry planning.
Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it will be affected by the ongoing trend of mass layoffs, with plans to lay off 5% of its global staff. With a devastating string of major layoffs afflicting the game industry, a climbing number of developers have lost their jobs in just the first few months of 2024. Within the last few days, several other studios have also announced layoffs, with a notable 900 employees being let go from PlayStation.
Mass layoffs have been plaguing game studios for the past year and a half, with around 10,000 developers losing their jobs in 2023. In only the first two months of 2024, the number of layoffs is reaching beyond 8,000, scraping dangerously close to meeting the total number from last year. Even within the last week, a massive number of developers have lost their jobs with layoffs hitting Supermassive, Playstation, and Deck Nine. The unsettling trend has both developers and gamers alike concerned about the future of beloved titles and studios.
Life is Strange: True Colors Developer Announces Layoffs
Deck Nine, the developer of Life is Strange: True Colors, announces it has laid off staff amid ongoing industry redundancies.
Electronic Arts joins the list of affected studios, with cuts to 5% of its global staff totaling about 670 layoffs. As reported by IGN, the cuts will also influence certain games in development, with EA stating that it will be sunsetting certain games to focus on its most successful offerings. CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement to staff that the company will be focused on moving affected employees to new roles and projects where possible. When combined with PlayStation's mass layoff, this week alone will see over a thousand developers losing their jobs.
EA Set to Cut 5% of Global Staff
- Around 670 developers to be laid off
- Sunsetting of an undisclosed number of games
- Decreased focus on future licensed IPs
While EA did not clarify which projects it will be sunsetting, the cancelation of two mobile games, F1 Mobile Racing and MLB Tap Sports, was announced earlier. Wilson’s statement discussed an increased focus on owned IPs, sports, and fostering large online communities, as well as EA’s plans to move away from future licensed IPs. EA has several Marvel and Star Wars titles in development currently, such as its upcoming Black Panther game and a new Jedi title.
Many industry professionals have attributed the mass layoffs to overzealous hiring and spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many companies got used to increased consumer spending. However, many developers are now claiming that the pandemic can not fully account for the dramatic hit to the game industry. Other potential contributing factors include the major expenses associated with game development, disorganized decision-making by studios, and a general lack of planning for the highs and lows of the game industry. While many companies continue to grapple with expenses, some studios continue to thrive and hire cut developers, with the likes of Baldur’s Gate seeking resumes from laid-off developers.
