Electronic Arts (EA) is cancelling an upcoming Star Wars sport and can lay off 5% of its staff globally- roughly 670 individuals.
The sport, which was in early improvement, would have been a first-person shooter set within the Star Wars universe.
The agency mentioned the “streamlining” would “deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans”.
It is the most recent instance of the job cuts sweeping the gaming trade.
EA beforehand introduced in December 2023 it will be shedding employees at UK developer Codemasters, recognized for racing video games F1 23 and EA Sports WRC.
In a letter to employees, boss Andrew Wilson mentioned the corporate had begun contacting affected staff, with the redundancies anticipated to be accomplished by summer season.
He additionally defined the choice to develop fewer new titles.
“We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry,” he wrote.
“This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities — including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities — to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow.”
In a subsequent e-mail to employees, EA leisure boss Laura Miele mentioned this meant cancelling the upcoming Star Wars title being labored on by subsidiary Respawn Entertainment. It was answerable for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which had “generally favourable” critiques in response to aggregator Metacritic.
“As we’ve looked at Respawn’s portfolio over the last few months, what’s clear is the games our players are most excited about are Jedi and Respawn’s rich library of owned brands,” she mentioned.
“It’s always hard to walk away from a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team’s talent, tenacity, or passion they have for the game.”
Yet extra lay-offs
This is the most recent spherical of cuts to hit the gaming trade, which in January noticed Microsoft reveal plans to put off 1,900 individuals in its gaming division, together with some at recently-acquired Activision-Blizzard.
And it comes simply two days after Sony introduced plans to axe 900 employees, in addition to shut its well-known London Studio.
“The impact of mass layoffs resonates deeply within the gaming community, particularly for the talented individuals affected,” mentioned Sarah Stevens, head of gaming HR agency e-volveHR.
“Above all, humanity and kindness are the most important ingredients for those navigating these choppy waters.”
Karol Severin, senior analyst at Midia Research, mentioned the most recent cuts confirmed how competitors was getting extra intense within the gaming trade.
“This is not to say that the industry is in trouble, it is just entering a new, more mature, chapter of its life – a chapter, where efficiency, profitability and competitive capabilities are the name of the game.
“The video games trade continues to be a $223bn (£176bn) trade, and can develop by roughly one other $78bn by 2030”, he mentioned.
“For context, that is greater than the present measurement of the entire international recorded music trade.”
