Gaming giant Electronic Arts is reducing its workforce by 5% as part of a broader restructuring plan to limit costs across the company’s operations.
According to the latest numbers published in May 2023, EA employs 16,400, meaning around 670 employees will be laid off.
EA is expected to incur between $125 million and $165 million in total charges in connection with the restructuring.
In a letter to employees, chief executive Andrew Wilson announced that EA will also be “sunsetting games” while “moving away from the development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry”.
IGN reported that a Star Wars first-person shooter being developed by Respawn is on the chopping block.
EA did not declare which games would be ‘sunsetted’, which presumably means the company will no longer finance upgrades to content or even servers.
Popular EA gaming franchises include Battlefield, The Sims, FIFA, Star Wars: Battlefront and Need For Speed.
The news comes after PlayStation maker Sony Interactive Entertainment last week said it was laying off 900 people, around 8% of its workforce
EA shares were unbudged when markets opened on Thursday, trading at $140.25 per share, marking a 3.4% year-to-date increase.