ALBAWABA – In its recent annual report, Electronic Arts, game developer and publisher, has revealed their workforce as 13,400 employees by the end of March 2023, a 670 less talents compared to previous reports, as reported by GameIndustry.Biz, which adds that these layoffs are in part of a new company strategy that includes cancelling licensed IPs.
EA game’s new heading includes the shutdown of some live game projects like F1 Mobile Racing and MLB Tap sports, as well as closure of multiple global offices. Another cancelled project according to IGN is the previously teased Respawn’s Star Wars FPS, with CEO Andrew Wilson saying EA is “moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.”
In an internal note, Wilson adds the reason for the decision to move away from licensed IP, stating that this more concentrated approach enables EA to provide the entertainment players desire now and in the future by driving creativity, accelerating innovation, and doubling down on our biggest opportunities, including our owned IP, sports games, and massive online communities.
IGN writes that many EA teams will be impacted by these layoffs, with support teams being the most severely affected. Although some developers will also be affected, EA mostly wants to transfer them to different projects and off of abandoned games. Wilson claims that these adjustments are already being discussed and will be "largely" finished by the beginning of the next quarter.
Milan, Italy - March 8 2019 Cartoomics Comic Con Visitors play FIFA 19 EA Sports game at Mantus Gaming stand (Shutterstock)
Apex Legends publisher is one in a long list of game publishers and studios laying off parts of their workforce as they recover from the over hiring trend after the Covid pandemic, EA laid off 800 workers last year, and in September, Epic Games laid off 830 workers. Microsoft said that it will eliminate 1,900 positions from its Activision Blizzard and Xbox game operations in January, while Tencent's Riot Games confirmed that it was cutting off 11% of its staff.
