EA has announced today a major company reorganization that will result in the loss of approximately 670 jobs, which is 5% of its workforce. As part of the same reorganization, the Star Wars FPS that Respawn was developing will be canceled.
Following the announcement of the cuts made today by CEO Andrew Wilson, EA Entertainment President Laura Miele shared a note with the staff explaining in more detail what EA’s business priorities will be in the future.
This includes their announcement that EA is shutting down an early-stage Star Wars FPS action game as part of a continued focus on their own brands and supporting their existing games. It seems that using expensive licensed IPs will no longer be EA’s business strategy.
Goodbye to future Star Wars games, but not to Cal Kestis’ current saga
“It is always difficult to abandon a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team’s talent, their tenacity, or the passion they feel for the game,” wrote Miele. “Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of box office success and the right place to focus on.”
Not much is known about the Star Wars FPS, but it was rumored to feature a Mandalorian protagonist in some way. The fate of the EA Star Wars strategy game is also unclear.
EA is carrying out the movement in part due to what it perceives as a rapid shift towards large open-world games, massive communities, and live service games.
Fortunately for Star Wars Jedi saga fans, Cal Kestis’ franchise will continue, even though EA focuses on its intellectual properties, and it is said that EA will continue to focus on its long-standing relationship with Disney/Marvel.
