EA is cutting 5% of its workforce, which is believed to be about 670 jobs according to its most recent headcount of 13,400 as of March 2023. The layoff news also included an update on the games EA’s studios are working on this year and beyond.
For Respawn, that update included canceling a Star Wars FPS Action game first announced in 2022. That game was reportedly going to be based on a Mandalorian bounty hunter. The cancellation is a surprise since Respawn is the premiere EA studio these days. Pretty much every game they’ve worked on has been a hit, from Titanfall to Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi.
But EA’s Laura Miele did offer some insights into why the game may have been canned in an update this week. She talks about how EA is “seeing a rapid player shift word large open-world games, communities, and live services.” It could be that this new FPS game didn’t align with the shift they are seeing.
What’s next for Respawn?
Miele says the focus will shift towards Respawn’s “rich library of owned brands.” Did anyone else instantly think Titanfall too?
“As we’ve looked at Respawn’s portfolio over the last few months, what’s clear is the games our players are most excited about are Jedi and Respawn’s rich library of owned brands. Knowing this, we have decided to pivot away from early development on a Star Wars FPS Action game to focus our efforts on new projects based on our owned brands while providing support for existing games.”
Respawn has mostly worked on three brands since its inception:
- Titanfall
- Apex Legends (set within the Titanfall universe)
- Star Wars Jedi series
It’ll be interesting to see if EA lets Respawn branch out into other EA properties. I wouldn’t be against Respawn taking a crack at a Battlefield 2142 sequel. Or doing something with the Army of Two brand.
One issue the big publishers are running into is they expect every new game to propel their earnings to a new level. Publishers need to get used to the idea of crafting smaller games around their IPs and trying new things.
Look at Helldivers 2. No one thought it would explode like it did. And it’s not some grand open-world game or a multiplayer game with every feature under the sun. It focused on making a polished co-op game with unique mechanics and did a helluva job doing it.
We’ll eventually see what franchise Respawn tackles next. Maybe we’ll get some early announcements during the usual summer events in a few months.