Electronic Arts (EA) CEO, Andrew Wilson, has announced their plans to layoff 5% of employees and pivot away from third-party licensed game development.
As of March 2023, EA had a total of 13.4 thousand employees making the announced cuts approximately 670 individuals, although not all departments will be impacted by this decision.
Under the new restructuring, game development studio Ridgeline Games will also close. The studio had been working on Battlefield’s narrative elements following the recent departure of its founder, Marcus Lehto. Criterion Games will be taking over this responsibility.
According to Wilson, EA’s future direction will involve a shift away from third-party licenses, focusing instead on in-house franchises, sports games, and “large online communities”.
EA Entertainment President, Laura Miele, confirmed that Respawn Entertainment’s upcoming Star Wars shooter has been cancelled due to the change in strategy. The game was rumored to be about a Mandalorian bounty hunter.
However, the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor continues to be developed, along with two Marvel licensed games; Motive Studio’s “Iron Man” and Cliffhanger Games’ “Black Panther”.
According to IGN, the next Mass Effect is still in pre-production, with the main BioWare team currently focused on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
