Electronic Arts is undergoing a significant wave of layoffs, reportedly impacting around 400 employees. In addition to the previously announced closure of its BioWare studio, EA is also cutting staff at Maxis, the developer of The Sims, and Full Circle, the studio behind the upcoming Skate game. Ripple Effect, a co-developer on the Battlefield series, has also been affected.
The internal announcement of the layoffs was first reported by Bloomberg. While BioWare accounted for approximately 50 job losses, the full extent of the cuts across other studios was not initially specified. However, reports from publications like Vertical Slice, citing numerous LinkedIn posts from affected employees, have confirmed that Maxis and Ripple Effect are among the studios targeted.
Several experienced developers have publicly shared news of their departures. Anna Huerta, senior creative director for The Sims at Maxis, stated she was "impacted by today's restructuring" and expressed sadness over leaving "talented people." Sims artist and art director Dylan Palmer also confirmed he was "caught in the recent round of layoffs."
At Full Circle, which had previously experienced layoffs this year, creative director John Epler, who spent 17 years at BioWare, confirmed his role was eliminated. Senior designer David Milne, senior gameplay designer Jason Payne, software engineer Jessia Coan, and development director Megan Lengle also shared news of their redundancies. Epler also posted a tribute to his former BioWare colleagues.
Reports of cuts at Ripple Effect, which has contributed to titles like Battlefield 2042 and the Battlefield Portal UGC platform, have been corroborated by posts from character artist Corey Thomas, technical animator Juan Meza, and technical artist Turner Spring.
Currently, there is no indication that these studios or their ongoing projects are being shut down or canceled in the same manner as BioWare. The financial motivations behind these widespread layoffs are suggested to be tied to EA's significant debt incurred from its leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.