“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.”
ihoptdk
Not remotely surprising. If they weren’t trying to make money hand over fist then they wouldn’t be EA anymore.
Space_Traveler_9956
the only positive out of this is them doubling down on their owned IPs instead of licensed games, sorry but im tired of marvel and star wars etc etc. Once the new dragon age and mass effect come out they need to “Yakuza” that shit (aka iterative sequels that come out every 3 years or so instead of the damn decade its been since the last dragon age game and even longer since the last good mass effect game, sorry andromeda but you dont count). Who knows if that will even happen but theres a better chance of it now
mapleer
Insomniac also put out a statement, seems like this wont be the end of it. Two major companies being hit like this within days is kind of unsettling for the gaming scene.
gingerwolfie
Lmao that headline. “Evolving” teams by firing people. That’s some idiotic corporate speak.
Great_White_Samurai
2024 the year of the layoff it’s pretty much a fad at his point. Everyone I know at fortune 500 companies says they are having layoffs this year.
marniconuke
you can’t use layoffs and evolution on the same sentence
zestfullybe
Absolutely everything EA touches DIES, up to and including itself.
**E**
**A**
**Sports**
**It’s total trash**
Decision1995
> We are entertaining, inspiring, and connecting more people with more content and deeper experiences than ever before.
Good joke
7th_Sim
A big FU to all those teams that worked crazy hours to put products out.
Typical.
Complete_Entry
I am tired of companies calling contraction and regression “evolution”.
antsmasher
“The intent of laying off our workers is to give them a sense of pride and accomplishment for all the sacrifices they made while they were with us.”
I_Am_Bill_Brasky
EA also laid off more than 200 people in February 2023 and shut down an entire office.
notthatguypal6900
Not one god damn day, seriously. Can we go 1 day without 100+ people losing their jobs to these greedy assholes.
IlyasBT
– Mando FPS from Respawn has been canceled.
– Ridgeline games (founded in 2022 to develop Battlefield single player games) is shutting down.
– EA is looking to stay away from licensed IPs going forward. (SW Jedi3, Iron Man & Black Panther are still happening)
OlTommyBombadil
EA talking about innovation is pretty comical. You guys buy innovative studios and then shut them down. You haven’t innovated in a Madden game for multiple console cycles.
Maybe one day EA won’t just say blatant bullshit PR nonsense. But that day is not today.
skittlebites101
Are game sales down? Profits down? Is there an over saturation of video games being released? Is the indie market out performing AAA studios on their smaller IPs? What is going on exactly. It seems like we’re going to a lot less games from these companies over the next few years.
totow1217
Ahhh just like burnout. Obtain a bunch of IP’s, run the franchise/developer into the ground, lay off a bunch of employees. The EA way
youra6
Told chat gpt to make a cynical translation of the update from their CEO. Here it is:
Team,
Let’s cut through the corporate speak: we’re here to make as much money as possible, and this past year we’ve been rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to try to squeeze out every last dollar. We’ve given more power to the folks who can help us churn out hit after hit, all to keep our player base glued to their screens and our revenue climbing.
The gaming industry is morphing faster than ever, mostly into a cash grab for big names and franchises. We’re all in on this trend, aiming to milk our most popular IPs for all they’re worth by expanding how you can interact with them—play, watch, create, you name it—as long as it opens your wallet wider.
We talk a big game about innovation and teamwork, but let’s be real: we’re trimming the fat. We’re ditching offices, axing games that don’t promise massive returns, and doubling down on what we think will rake in the cash. This means focusing on our blockbuster IPs, sports games, and anything that has a whiff of online community, because that’s where the money’s at.
Here’s the kicker: we’re cutting about 5% of our workforce. It’s the old “it’s not you, it’s me” as we show people the door. Sure, we’re making it sound like we’ve thought long and hard about this and are doing everything we can to find everyone a new landing spot, but the truth is, if you’re not directly making us money, you’re out. We’re starting to tell people now, and we’ll have this mess cleaned up by next quarter.
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to EA’s bottom line. We like to say we’re leading the future of entertainment, but really, we’re just following the money. Looking forward to banking more with those of you who are left. Keep up the good work.
Andrew
Outrageous-Blue-30
Layoffs are always bad to hear and it’s sad that the Mandalorian FPS was canceled since it seemed promising from the preliminary information, but at least without seeing actual material like a trailer I think it hurts less because there’s nothing concrete to judge it.
Reducing licensed games on the other hand is understandable, the costs are becoming increasingly higher and if you don’t earn enough the risk of flop is high, just look at the costs of Disney licenses in the leaked Insomniac documents.
KoshV
I don’t even want to pirate stuff from EA. They are just that bad of a company.
TentacleJesus
“We thought we wouldn’t get as big a bonus this year as last year so we’re cutting people to keep their money.”
solstice22776
funny how many tech companies laying people off left and right.
Almost like they all saw what AI is capable of now and thought, man, that’ll be a lot cheaper to use than all those folks…..
Deathtrooper50
It’s evolving, just backwards.
OVERDRlVE
in 10 years there will be only 100 people working in the video-game industry because everyone else was be laid off.
xdforcezz
God, I hate that PR bullshit.
MrFiendish
And yet, FIFA will sell very well, yet again, for another year.
DoublePostedBroski
Layoffs are so hot right now.
Outrageous-Blue-30
However, it is not clear to me why cancel the FPS on the Mandalorian if the IP in Disney is still famous and the same production company will make a film in the future (therefore even more publicity), it was at an expendable point of development or the cost of license was getting too high?
Egosnam
EA Probably: How can we make more live service games
RiasGremoryBestGirl
Holy fuck it’s like every few hours a new studio announces it
Is the industry actually collapsing a bit?
Special-Zombie1789
I almost never comment but I can contribute to this conversation.
The business model where an oversized company pours a ton of cheap money into a mediocre game to get small ROI after a tortured 5+ year development cycle is becoming less profitable (or even negatively profitable) than investing money otherwise. This is partially because of high interest rates and partially because the buyers are tired of shovelware. It’s not wise to invest in game companies now, the times when AAA meant risk-free investment (that’s where the term came from) are long gone.
For a long period of time making money from games in this brute force way was less risky than building ambitious hits. When credit was cheap, a business model funded by loans (even if indirectly, through investors that are leveraging their investments) was easy – get the money, make 1.5x the money over five years, pay everyone’s salaries (most importantly the executives’), and pay a little bit of dividends. Rinse, repeat, etc.
There are two strategies now – layoffs and making the company sustainable with the same low-risk MBA-style business practices. Or (probably still) layoffs and going back to the way games were made in 00s – building hits with 500%+ ROI. The former is common in corporate game developers, the latter is successful for AA companies and new comers.
The AAA companies have become very bloated with mediocre talent though, especially in middle management. So layoffs are inevitable. And it really is for the sustainability of the business. Fewer people than what a typical AAA company employs can make wildly profitable games, it has been shown many times.
Companies with a culture of high-ROI games keep steadily hiring with no talk of layoffs – R*, Valve, Nintendo, etc.
JoshSmash81
Hope all these developers land somewhere soft, but all those layoffs are scary. There’s room for some new studios to be formed from the ashes here, hopefully.
Schwarzer_Exe
Well, there goes Dead Space 2 remake.
Not_a_scp
How the hell do the evolve your teams if you fire them?
36 Comments
EA laying off around 670 employees.
“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.”
Not remotely surprising. If they weren’t trying to make money hand over fist then they wouldn’t be EA anymore.
the only positive out of this is them doubling down on their owned IPs instead of licensed games, sorry but im tired of marvel and star wars etc etc. Once the new dragon age and mass effect come out they need to “Yakuza” that shit (aka iterative sequels that come out every 3 years or so instead of the damn decade its been since the last dragon age game and even longer since the last good mass effect game, sorry andromeda but you dont count). Who knows if that will even happen but theres a better chance of it now
Insomniac also put out a statement, seems like this wont be the end of it. Two major companies being hit like this within days is kind of unsettling for the gaming scene.
Lmao that headline. “Evolving” teams by firing people. That’s some idiotic corporate speak.
2024 the year of the layoff it’s pretty much a fad at his point. Everyone I know at fortune 500 companies says they are having layoffs this year.
you can’t use layoffs and evolution on the same sentence
Absolutely everything EA touches DIES, up to and including itself.
**E**
**A**
**Sports**
**It’s total trash**
> We are entertaining, inspiring, and connecting more people with more content and deeper experiences than ever before.
Good joke
A big FU to all those teams that worked crazy hours to put products out.
Typical.
I am tired of companies calling contraction and regression “evolution”.
“The intent of laying off our workers is to give them a sense of pride and accomplishment for all the sacrifices they made while they were with us.”
EA also laid off more than 200 people in February 2023 and shut down an entire office.
Not one god damn day, seriously. Can we go 1 day without 100+ people losing their jobs to these greedy assholes.
– Mando FPS from Respawn has been canceled.
– Ridgeline games (founded in 2022 to develop Battlefield single player games) is shutting down.
– EA is looking to stay away from licensed IPs going forward. (SW Jedi3, Iron Man & Black Panther are still happening)
EA talking about innovation is pretty comical. You guys buy innovative studios and then shut them down. You haven’t innovated in a Madden game for multiple console cycles.
Maybe one day EA won’t just say blatant bullshit PR nonsense. But that day is not today.
Are game sales down? Profits down? Is there an over saturation of video games being released? Is the indie market out performing AAA studios on their smaller IPs? What is going on exactly. It seems like we’re going to a lot less games from these companies over the next few years.
Ahhh just like burnout. Obtain a bunch of IP’s, run the franchise/developer into the ground, lay off a bunch of employees. The EA way
Told chat gpt to make a cynical translation of the update from their CEO. Here it is:
Team,
Let’s cut through the corporate speak: we’re here to make as much money as possible, and this past year we’ve been rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to try to squeeze out every last dollar. We’ve given more power to the folks who can help us churn out hit after hit, all to keep our player base glued to their screens and our revenue climbing.
The gaming industry is morphing faster than ever, mostly into a cash grab for big names and franchises. We’re all in on this trend, aiming to milk our most popular IPs for all they’re worth by expanding how you can interact with them—play, watch, create, you name it—as long as it opens your wallet wider.
We talk a big game about innovation and teamwork, but let’s be real: we’re trimming the fat. We’re ditching offices, axing games that don’t promise massive returns, and doubling down on what we think will rake in the cash. This means focusing on our blockbuster IPs, sports games, and anything that has a whiff of online community, because that’s where the money’s at.
Here’s the kicker: we’re cutting about 5% of our workforce. It’s the old “it’s not you, it’s me” as we show people the door. Sure, we’re making it sound like we’ve thought long and hard about this and are doing everything we can to find everyone a new landing spot, but the truth is, if you’re not directly making us money, you’re out. We’re starting to tell people now, and we’ll have this mess cleaned up by next quarter.
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to EA’s bottom line. We like to say we’re leading the future of entertainment, but really, we’re just following the money. Looking forward to banking more with those of you who are left. Keep up the good work.
Andrew
Layoffs are always bad to hear and it’s sad that the Mandalorian FPS was canceled since it seemed promising from the preliminary information, but at least without seeing actual material like a trailer I think it hurts less because there’s nothing concrete to judge it.
Reducing licensed games on the other hand is understandable, the costs are becoming increasingly higher and if you don’t earn enough the risk of flop is high, just look at the costs of Disney licenses in the leaked Insomniac documents.
I don’t even want to pirate stuff from EA. They are just that bad of a company.
“We thought we wouldn’t get as big a bonus this year as last year so we’re cutting people to keep their money.”
funny how many tech companies laying people off left and right.
Almost like they all saw what AI is capable of now and thought, man, that’ll be a lot cheaper to use than all those folks…..
It’s evolving, just backwards.
in 10 years there will be only 100 people working in the video-game industry because everyone else was be laid off.
God, I hate that PR bullshit.
And yet, FIFA will sell very well, yet again, for another year.
Layoffs are so hot right now.
However, it is not clear to me why cancel the FPS on the Mandalorian if the IP in Disney is still famous and the same production company will make a film in the future (therefore even more publicity), it was at an expendable point of development or the cost of license was getting too high?
EA Probably: How can we make more live service games
Holy fuck it’s like every few hours a new studio announces it
Is the industry actually collapsing a bit?
I almost never comment but I can contribute to this conversation.
The business model where an oversized company pours a ton of cheap money into a mediocre game to get small ROI after a tortured 5+ year development cycle is becoming less profitable (or even negatively profitable) than investing money otherwise. This is partially because of high interest rates and partially because the buyers are tired of shovelware. It’s not wise to invest in game companies now, the times when AAA meant risk-free investment (that’s where the term came from) are long gone.
For a long period of time making money from games in this brute force way was less risky than building ambitious hits. When credit was cheap, a business model funded by loans (even if indirectly, through investors that are leveraging their investments) was easy – get the money, make 1.5x the money over five years, pay everyone’s salaries (most importantly the executives’), and pay a little bit of dividends. Rinse, repeat, etc.
There are two strategies now – layoffs and making the company sustainable with the same low-risk MBA-style business practices. Or (probably still) layoffs and going back to the way games were made in 00s – building hits with 500%+ ROI. The former is common in corporate game developers, the latter is successful for AA companies and new comers.
The AAA companies have become very bloated with mediocre talent though, especially in middle management. So layoffs are inevitable. And it really is for the sustainability of the business. Fewer people than what a typical AAA company employs can make wildly profitable games, it has been shown many times.
Companies with a culture of high-ROI games keep steadily hiring with no talk of layoffs – R*, Valve, Nintendo, etc.
Hope all these developers land somewhere soft, but all those layoffs are scary. There’s room for some new studios to be formed from the ashes here, hopefully.
Well, there goes Dead Space 2 remake.
How the hell do the evolve your teams if you fire them?
Yet people still pre-order shit from them.