Electronic Arts lays off 5% of workforce [Update: Star Wars first-person shooter reportedly canceled]

Electronic Arts will deploy 5% of its workforce, the company announced.

The company said in its most recent annual report that it had 13,400 employees as of March 2023, bringing the total number of laid-off employees to about 670.

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said in a memo to employees that the company was “moving away from developing future licenses.” [intellectual property] “We don’t believe we will succeed in a changing industry.”

GamesIndustry.biz reports that one of these licensed titles has been canceled as part of this plan and the team working on it has moved on to other projects. An Electronic Arts representative also confirmed both via their website. black panther and Ironman The game is still in development.

In 2022, with its Electronic Arts subsidiary, star wars jedi Series developer Respawn Entertainment has announced three new news. star Wars Title with third item star wars jedi series, first-person shooters, strategy games, and more. It’s unclear whether any of these are the canceled projects mentioned by GamesIndustry.biz.

“This greater focus will allow us to fuel creativity, accelerate innovation and double down on our biggest opportunities, including those we own. [intellectual property]Through sports, large online communities, and more, we can deliver the entertainment our players want now and in the future,” Wilson explained in the memo.

He added that the publisher had “considered deeply all options to limit the impact on our team” and that informing people of this impact had already begun and “should be largely completed by early next quarter”.

Get Wilson’s full memo below.

team,

We’re entertaining, inspiring, and connecting more people with more content and deeper experiences than ever before. Last year, we organized the company to help our creative leaders achieve strategic priorities: entertaining large online communities, telling blockbuster stories, and leveraging the power of communities in and out of games. These actions allow us to build bigger, bolder experiences for hundreds of millions of players and fans around the world.

We are also driving accelerating industry change that is dramatically changing the needs and motivations of players. Fans are increasingly engaging with media on a larger scale. [intellectual property], and they want a broader experience where they can play, watch, create content, and build deeper relationships. Our industry exists at the cutting edge of entertainment, and in today’s dynamic environment we are evolving the way we work and continually evolving our business.

As a company full of creators and storytellers, we believe in the value of teams innovating together and continually learn and adopt new ways to work together to grow and serve our global community. Given how and where we work, we are continuously optimizing our global real estate footprint to best support our business. We are also shutting down the game and moving away from future licensed development. [intellectual property] We don’t believe we will succeed in a changing industry. This greater focus allows us to fuel creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities, including those we own. [intellectual property], sports, and a large online community, providing the entertainment players want now and in the future. Finally, we are streamlining our operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans around the world who build communities, shape culture, and grow their fandoms.

During this time of change, we expect these decisions to impact approximately 5% of our workforce. I understand that this will create uncertainty and challenge the many people who work with such dedication and passion and have made important contributions to our company. Not all teams will be affected, but this is the most difficult part of these changes, so we have carefully considered all options to limit the impact on our teams. Our main goal is to provide team members with the opportunity to find new roles and paths that can transition to other projects. Where this is not possible, we will support and work with each colleague with the utmost care, consideration and respect. Communications on these impacts have already begun and are expected to be largely complete by early next quarter.

We’d like to thank everyone who helps contribute to EA’s ongoing story. We’re a team that relies on our values ​​to lead the future of entertainment, and we’re excited to see what we create together. Thank you for everything you do.

—Andrew

Update 5:30 p.m.: According to an IGN report, Respawn Entertainment’s star Wars The first-person shooting game was abolished due to reorganization and was newly established in 2022. battlefield Studio Ridgeline Games has been shut down and some of its employees have been folded into the sister company. battlefield Studio ripple effect. Criterion’s Danny Isaac and Darren White will oversee single-player work for the series going forward. What to do next star wars jedi The game is still going on.