EA cutting hundreds of jobs

Electronic Arts said it’s cutting 5% of its workforce, or about 670 people, citing shifting customer needs and a refocusing of the company.

EA will also be ceasing development on an undisclosed number of games and pulling back on its real estate holdings, the game publisher’s chief executive officer, Andrew Wilson, told staff in a memo.

Wilson added that the company will be “moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.”

The Redwood City, California-company restructured in mid-2023, shuffling top executives and creating two new divisions.

It’s joining Sony, Microsoft Corp., Tencent Inc.’s Riot Games and other top gaming firms in laying off employees as game development costs increase in the saturated market.

In mid-February, EA confirmed it was shuttering two mobile games.

The company is expected to take on between $125 million and $165 million in costs associated with the plan.

In 2023, EA released the first entry in its new soccer video game series EA Sports FC, the continuation of its popular FIFA games.

The game sold well, but EA’s bookings, or sales of games and in-game services, fell 2% between 2022 and 2023.