As a result of EA laying off 670 employees, Respawn’s untitled Star Wars FPS is being canceled.
Respawn Entertainment is a highly trusted developer that has proven it can take good care of the IP, thanks to the incredible success of Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) and its sequel, Jedi: Survivor (2023).
The rumored FPS title was allegedly inspired by the classic Dark Forces series, which gave birth to a series of FPS games featuring former Imperial turned mercenary Kyle Katarn.
Unfortunately, EA is laying off 5% of its workforce. In a company-wide letter, CEO Andrew Wilson informed staff of the publisher’s restructuring, which is causing certain projects to have development shut down as well as ongoing support for certain live service titles.
Wilson states in the letter that EA is doing this to streamline itself, which allows the delivery of “deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.” To this end, the company is moving away from popular licensed IPs to shift its resources.
“We are also sunsetting games and moving away from the development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry,” says Wilson in the letter. “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.”
Wilson then covers the extent of the layoffs and how it will affect employees:
“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.”
He states that this restructuring is expected to be completed by early next quarter. Last March, EA cut 6 percent of its global workforce.
According to Video Game Chronicle, Respawn’s upcoming FPS is one of the casualties. In a statement to VGC, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele said in part, “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. Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus.”
EA’s other upcoming licensed projects include Motive’s Iron Man and Cliffhanger’s Black Panther. An EA representative confirmed to GameIndustry.biz that both projects are still in development.
These job cuts are merely one drop in the swamp of disheartening layoffs across the gaming industry in 2024, which now total over 8,000 in the first two months of the year. PlayStation is laying off some 900 employees across major studios including Guerilla, Naughty Dog, and Insomniac. Supermassive Games announced it is laying off 90 employees.
In 2023, more than 10,000 workers in gaming and adjacent industries were laid off as well.