EA layoffs affect 5% of staff, company “moving away from future licensed IP”

After what has already been a devastating week of job losses in the video game industry, Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it is also undergoing mass layoffs, with plans to let go 5% of its global staff or roughly 670 individuals.

In a note sent to staff, CEO Andrew Wilson stated that the EA layoffs are reacting to “accelerating industry transformation where player needs and motivations and changed significantly.” Interesting to note, EA also said that it is “moving away from the development of future licensed IP.” This is despite having several Star Wars and Marvel games currently in the works.

Wilson notes that they are “sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.” He goes on to add “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.”

Details haven’t been shared as to which games would be sunset, but EA has already announced it would be shutting down mobile games F1 Mobile Racing and MLB Tap Sports. It’s been noted that the layoffs will impact several teams, largely affecting support teams. When it comes to developers, EA hopes to move them off of canceled projects and onto other teams, with the changes to be completed by early next quarter.

These EA layoffs mark just another dark day in a string of many dark days in 2024 when it comes to layoffs in the video game industry. With announcements like these every day, it’s getting more and more difficult to champion this industry we love so much. We hope those affected can find new roles soon.

You can read Wilson’s full note to EA’s staff below:

—

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 IP, 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 IP 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 IP, 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 5 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.