Video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. said Wednesday it will cut about 5% of its workforce and plans to cancel some games in development.
In a letter to employees, CEO Andrew Wilson said “we are streamlining our company’s operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans.”
It said the layoffs would affect about 5% of the company’s global workforce, which would amount to about 670 people, based on a headcount of 13,400 employees as of last March, according to an SEC filing.
“We are also abandoning games and moving away from developing future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our evolving industry,” Wilson said, allowing EA EA,
to “double down on our greatest opportunities, including our intellectual property, sports and massive online communities.”
It is unclear which games will be cancelled. EA has numerous video games in development from major franchises such as Marvel and “Star Wars.” EA also develops the “Madden NFL” football game, the “EA Sports FC” soccer game and the “Apex Legends” franchise.
See also: EA’s upcoming college football game ‘takes advantage’ of players with $600 payout, expert says
The video game industry, as well as the tech industry in general, has been devastated by layoffs over the past year and beyond, with more than 10,000 jobs cut in 2023 and around 8,000 so far this year.
Last March, EA laid off about 6% of its workforce.
EA’s latest cuts come a day after Sony SONY,
has cut about 900 jobs at its PlayStation unit. Last month, Microsoft MSFT,
said it will cut about 1,900 workers following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Amazon’s AMZN,
Twitch, Unity Software U,
and Riot Games have also announced layoffs this year.
Last month, EA said that while demand for games improved during the holiday quarter, it expected fiscal fourth-quarter net bookings, a gauge of physical and digital sales, to decline year over year.
EA shares were little changed on Wednesday. The stock is up about 2% year to date and has gained about 27% over the past 12 months, compared to the S&P 500’s SPX’s 6% rise in 2024 and 28% gain over the past year.