Electronic Arts Lays Off Five Percent of Its Workforce, Mandalorian Game Canceled

Electronic Arts have announced that it will lay off five percent of its entire workforce which comes down to around 670 people. Additionally, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said the company is “moving away from development of future licensed [intellectual property] that [the company] do not believe will be successful”. According to a recent IGN report, Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars first-person shooter was canceled as part of the company’s reorganization, and the Battlefield studio Ridgeline Games has been shut down. Some of the studio’s staff was transferred to sister Battlefield studio Ripple Effect. However, the next Star Wars Jedi game remains in development. Additionally, according to a GamesIndustry.biz report, the previously announced Black Panther and Iron Man games are still in development. Wilson stated that this change gives the company focus “to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities—including our owned [intellectual property], sports, and massive online communities—to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow.” He also claims the company “deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts to our teams”. 

According to a recent report from Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, Respawn’s single player FPS game was rumored to be a Mandalorian game. The game was to be a FPS where players control a bounty hunter. It was also reportedly to be set “during the time when the Galactic Empire is dominating across the galaxy.” The game would see players control the Mandalorian to collect bounties with “mobility” and “style” being guiding principles.

The full message from Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson:

Team,

We are entertaining, inspiring, and connecting more people with more content and deeper experiences than ever before. Over the last year, we have organized our company to further empower our creative leaders to deliver our strategic priorities of entertaining massive online communities, telling blockbuster stories, and harnessing the power of community in and around our games. These actions have positioned us to build bigger, bolder experiences for hundreds of millions of players and fans around the world.

We are also leading through an accelerating industry transformation where player needs and motivations have changed significantly. Fans are increasingly engaging with the largest [intellectual property], and looking to us for broader experiences where they can play, watch, create content, and forge deeper connections. Our industry exists at the cutting edge of entertainment, and in today’s dynamic environment, we are advancing the way we work and continuing to evolve our business.

As a company full of creators and storytellers, we believe in the value of teams innovating together, and continue to learn and adopt new ways of collaborating to grow and serve our global communities. Given how and where we are working, we are continuing to optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business. We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed [intellectual property] 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 [intellectual property], sports, and massive online communities—to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow. Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.

In this time of change, we expect these decisions to impact approximately five percent of our workforce. I understand this will create uncertainty and be challenging for many who have worked with such dedication and passion and have made important contributions to our company. 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. Communicating these impacts has already begun and will be largely completed by early next quarter.

I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who has helped contribute to EA’s ongoing story. We are a team that leans into our values to lead the future of entertainment, and I look forward to what we will create together. Thank you for all that you do.

—Andrew

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