Right on the heels of Sony’s recent layoffs announcement, Electronic Arts (EA) is making plans to reduce its headcount.
EA is a U.S.-based video game company offering game experiences across various genres. Popular franchises developed or published by EA include The Sims, Madden NFL, Apex Legends, and more. Now, the company is reorganizing and streamlining its efforts, with a planned reduction in employees as well as new goals. Both CEO Andrew Wilson and EA Entertainment and Technology President Laura Miele shared information regarding the company’s future.
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.
The changes at EA are expected to impact around 5% of the company’s workforce. EA reports that it has already begun the process of notifying employees and teams, and will have the majority of communication complete by early next quarter.
EA shared additional plans beyond workforce reduction. The company reports a shift in player interest toward open-world games, massive communities, and live services and intends to stay up to date with trends.
Over the past six months, you've heard me talk about aligning our portfolio and organization to deliver on our ambitious growth strategy. One of the essential parts of delivering on our plans is making sure we are listening to our players and investing in the games they want to play.
Respawn, a game studio owned by EA since 2017, will halt development on a planned Star Wars first-person shooter, and instead shift focus to new projects based on owned brands.
The popular Battlefield franchise will also be seeing changes. Marcus Lehto, previous Battlefield Director and Co-Founder of studio Ridgeline Games, will depart from the company. EA is responding with new leadership appointments from Criterion. The company is also planning to dissolve Ridgeline Games, with some team members joining Ripple Effect.
Finally, EA reports growth opportunities within the mobile gaming industry. The company has spent the past six months bringing together both the mobile and HD franchise teams under singular leadership within EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, and The Sims. EA will be sunsetting several mobile offerings, including Kim Kardashian Hollywood, Lord of the Rings, Tap Sports Baseball, and F1 Mobile.
EA has expressed its intent to support those affected by the changes, whether moving them to new projects or otherwise. The layoffs as well as the sunsetting of existing game offerings represent the changes influencing the larger industry overall.
