EA cans 12 games, lays off 1500 staff
Buys developer Playfish for $300 million.
Electronic Arts has announced plans to make 1500 employees redundant by April of next year.
The company reckons the plan will save at least $100 million annually. Around 900 positions in game development will go, along with 500 in publishing and 100 at corporate level. According to Gamasutra, studios affected will include EA Redwood Shores, Tiburon, Mythic and Black Box.
The news came as EA published a financial report for the July to September quarter, posting a net loss of $391 million - an increase of 26 per cent compared to the same period in 2008.
"Laying off employees and closing facilities is never pleasant," said bossman John Riccitiello. "We have a lot of compassion for those impacted but these cuts are essential for transforming our company."
Riccitiello has also confirmed that EA has cancelled around 12 unannounced projects. "Electronic Arts has a core slate of games label and sports franchises that we will iterate on a either annual or bi-annual basis. And I think you know what those major titles are - all of them are selling or have sold in their most recent edition 2 million units or more," he said.
"After that, we’ve got The Sims and Hasbro, and frankly anything that doesn’t measure up to looking like it can pencil out to be in very high profit contributor and high unit seller got cut from our title slate from this point going forward."
All that cash EA saves as a result of the cuts will come in handy. The company has also announced it's buying Playfish, a developer of social network games, for $300 million. The firm's previous work includes Pet Society, Restaurant City and Country Story, and more than 150 million Playfish games have been installed by gamers around the world.
For more details, visit GamesIndustry.biz.
You may also like...
-
Digital Foundry: PS3 Skyrim Lag Fixed?
-
Why Devs Owe You Nothing
-
Face-Off: The Darkness 2
-
Gotham City Impostors Review
-
Who Killed Rare?
-
EA evaluating FIFA Street features for FIFA 13
-
App of the Day: Sir Benfro's Brilliant Balloon
-
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review
-
Sony admits "dropping the ball" with Demon's Souls
-
App of the Day: Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer
-
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Vita Review
-
Retrospective: Star Wars Episode I Racer
-
Grand Slam Tennis 2 Review
-
CD Projekt: Witcher 2 intro cinematic "the most expensive asset we ever created"
-
The Darkness 2 Review
-
Skyrim patch 1.4 now live for Xbox 360
-
One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP Review
-
King Arthur 2 Review
-
Samsung Galaxy Note Review
-
Skyrim patch 1.4 performance tip: make a new manual save
-
Metal Gear Solid: The "Lost" HD Remasters
-
Epic's Sweeney on graphics tech: "the limit really is in sight"
-
App of the Day: Superman
-
Next Xbox has tablet-like touch-screen controller - rumour
-
Double Fine Adventure passes Day of the Tentacle budget









Comments (75) Latest comment 2 years ago
Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I just did a little bit of sick in my mouth.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
/Dear Sir or Madam, I'm applying for the position at Tesco...
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
"yeah wonder where they'll end up, new start ups, going indie possibly?"
Its not the best climate for that right now. Indie's need investors to fund their projects, and there isn't as much ready cash about at the moment as their used to be.
And I don't want to upset anyone, but this is Playfish. You might want to dun glasses before clicking the link.
[link url=http://www.playfish.com/
]http://www.playfish.com/
[/link]
Looks like EA are putting their money into safer territory.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Is Black Box the developer responsible for Dead Space?
Comment below viewing threshold Show
good deal
Comment below viewing threshold Show
loL! That was EIDOS. Nevermind. Carry on.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Oh and this...
"and frankly anything that doesn’t measure up to looking like it can pencil out to be in very high profit contributor and high unit seller got cut from our title slate from this point going forward."
The games industry 2009 what a wonderful industry it's grown into. Well done pat yourselves on your wallets.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
EA have been making good games recently and its a shame they didn't sell well. This was sort of inevitable given their recent losses.
Sad for the people losing their jobs and for EA giving up on new IPs.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
+1
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Hope the laid-off can find new jobs, it's not an easy market at the moment. Would like to know what percentage of workforce 1500 is, EA do have a shit-load of people under their umbrella.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Kick out 1500 save $100 million and then go and spend $300 million acquiring another company.
The new company of course will already have employees that also need to be paid.
Instead of buying stuff maybe they should have just kept the existing 1500 staff and carried on developing, 300 million would be enough to keep quite a few people employed for a while.
Good luck to those who have been laid off, shame it's so near to Christmas when people are generally not hiring.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Well, when they announced the layoffs of 1000 people this time last year, that was supposed to be about 10%. So this will be another 17% on top of that.
They really do like timing these things just before xmas, don't they?
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Good luck to those getting their CVs and 'reels together.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
They see social networking sites as the way forward but, haven't realised that PlayFish make their money from in game transactions and not game sales. These are trend items and so are not guaranteed to even be around in a years time let alone sustain a business longterm.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Given my last 3 games were FIFA 10,Brutal Legend,Dragon Age and Sabaueur and Dante Inferno are on my radar I'm worried since EA are currently one of the better companies atm imo.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
They just launched the biggest rpg of the decade and will be following it up in 2-3 months with another giant rpg, they've got the biggest fps in the world in the bank for 2010, activisions relative position now is at it's peak, ea is in a trough that's all.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
No.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
It was fun while it lasted. Thanks for the good times.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Perhaps if people BUY the fucking games that have made EA so great instead of queueing for 5 hours to pay FIFTY FIVE FUCKING POUNDS to Bobby Kotick and his "annualisable franchises" then this wouldn't be happening. Fucking casuals, go off and play the 759 different Hero games that have come out since last month while I go cry in a corner dreaming about what could've been.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Mercy of the stock holders? Did you not read the news story, the company lost $391,000,000 in 3 months. A company cannot go on losing that amount of money just to make some original computer games for you to enjoy. This isn't like Activision/Blizzard who are making large sums of money but still refuse to create original IP... this is a company that's losing large sums of money that needs to concentrate on the successful IP it has to keep going.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
What awkward language from someone who represents a big company. He just could have said "from here on" or even "from this point on(ward)".
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Yes i read that, you also have to remember that EA maybe having a hard time of it at the moment, but in 2008 they were trying to buy Take Two. I understand what you mean about not being able to take continual losses. But it seems like they are rubbing some of their employees faces in it when they also announce that they will be buying another company for 300 million and that companies revenues are 75 million. But that's revenue not profit.
Like i said it just stinks a little.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
This is really sad news, and shows a total lack of respect, Black Box and Tiburon must be two of the most profitable studios outside of Japan.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Though it looks like NfS already made the jump to other studios. Shift was Slightly Mad Studios and the next is coming from Criterion isn't it?
Though it's a good point that the cuts are really across the board. Dead Space 2 looks in danger.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I think the Double Fine relationship may be in question if this is symbolic of EA's new direction.
I think the big shame in all of this is that EA tried a new direction, both in terms of creativity and variety, just before the recession came along. Many within and without the company will look at this and think "creativity and variety didn't make money, lets not try that again" when in fact they could have done really well if other factors didn't stuff things up.
Can't blame it entirely on the recession mind. Activision are making money hand over fit while EA are losing it, so something is not being done right.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
It's not clear whether this is actually the next satge in John Riccitello's grand plan to bring critical acclaim and respect back to EA, but it's looking much more like a retreat to their former only-if-it's-proven-to-sell days, which is a shame.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Activision are targetting a massively bigger demographic - retards. EA are targetting a minute demographic - people with taste. The sad fact is that if you are going to spend any real amount of money on a game you need to be certain it will sell in large numbers, which often goes hand in hand with removing all creativity. People buy what is safe, and inventing the first-person speed-platformer genre isn't safe, whereas six Guitar Hero games in 12 months, each with a dev budget of a tenner, is.
It's all very well us whining about the death of creativity in the industry and the shelves being licensed cash-in after licensed cash-in, but if pleasing us is going to send companies billions into the red we can't complain when they go back to their 'evil' ways unless we're prepared to bail them out. They tried, and for that I am incredibly grateful, and if EA does end up cutting back on the big-risk titles, I'll try not to hold it against them. The only people 'destroying' creativity within our industry are the game-buying public.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
That is just hijacking the discussion and replacing fact with childish nonsense. I'm sure it makes you feel better about things to start laying down insults about how your perfect life is messed with by the inferior people around you, like a child throwing their rattle from their pram because they don't get the sweets they want, but what you say isn't even remotely true.
Activion make games that people like, and so people buy their games. If EA were making games that we liked, but we didn't buy them in sufficient numbers to make it profitable for EA to keep doing so, does that perhaps make us the retards? How many copies of Dead Space did you buy personally? And if EA kept making the game you like at a loss, until they eventually went out of business, would that not equally be retarded of them?
I'm not saying EA are going about things the right way, but if they are making losses they have to react. Any business that did not react in the same situation would be idiotic and would eventually go out of business. How many creative titles do you think EA could make for you if they went into receivership? If they can't make good games that we like and that actually sell, then they will just have to leave it to other companies to fill that space in the market who ARE able. You having a hissy fit about it won't change those facts.
And bringing taste into the discussion is just a waste of breath. Taste is just something people use to try and imply their entirely subjective preference is somehow factually valid.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
/facepalm.
awww fuck.
and there I was all ready to welcome EA back with open arms like a beaten spouse that thinks: 'ahh it's ok, they've changed'...
Seeing Activision steal their title of "Crown Cunts of The games Industry" must have upset them.
1500 staff laid off and a return to the stagnant 12 months franchise dev cycle...
Bob Kotick would be proud.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
You'd like to think that he is earmarking some of the teams remaining to generate the original IP that allows them to make higher profits than in the days of their licensing all and sundry. Otherwise they are truly lost.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Fully agree with everything you're saying. Mirrors Edge was a great game. Yes, it was frustrating at times getting your timing right but the sense of achievement compared being able to shoot another respawning terrorist is immensely greater.
It's depressing that MW2 is going to sit at number 1 for the next 12 months at the expense of anything original.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Is it just me, or did that sentence make no sense whatsoever? Also, Blizzard are with Activision, not EA.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I just did a little bit of sick in my mouth.
As did I.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Every company is trying to minimise risks, but at least EA seem to have adopted an ethic of making the most out of their major brands and making solid sequels to previous sucesses. I don't think this is EA being a corporate whore and trying to maximise profits at the expense of its workforce, I think this is urgent restructuring to prevent a real problem. Good luck to all the people that lost their jobs.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
All my best to those 1.5k people out
Comment below viewing threshold Show
5 are EA(FIFA10,Dead Space,Dragon Age,Brutal Legend,Mercenaries 2)
3 are MGS(Mass Effect,Halo 3,Perfect Dark Zero)
2 are Ubisoft(Prince of Persia,Splinter Cell
1 is Take2/Rockstar(GTA IV)
1 is Namco(Soul Calibur IV)
1 is Codemasters(GRID)
1 is Konami(PES2008)
1 is THQ(Saints Row 2)
1 is Capcom(Resident Evil 5)
Not one is an Activision title. Brutal Legend was canned by people following what EA seem to be indicating. I am going to be running out of games that appeal to me if that is the case. Seriously what is Activision release slate:
Modern Warfare 2(Not on my want list) and a bunch of Hero games
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
MS might actually have to get off their arses and make some first party games again to fill the gaps.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
It's basically the giant turtle retreating into his shell to wither the storm. Once the storm has passed, however, the turtle can get back to exploring the world and discovering interesting new things. That is, if the storm didn't last really long and caused the turtle to die of starvation.
Sad, but true. I hope the lost 1500 can still come around to laying their creative eggs.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Have I logged into some bizzaro reverse reality? How the fuck does this comment even get uttered with a straight face in the real world?
EA buy people who produce things with taste and then when their churn developers don't do so well they decide the talented offices are bloated and need trimming. It's called the Michael Eisner Maneuver.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
these cuts are essential for transforming our company
Stop fucking transforming it then, who the hell said it needed transforming again? By and large right now EA is probably the most liked it has ever been, after all that time of being the gamer's hate figure of choice; changing it back into a sequel-factory is just nuts.
I don't subscribe to the "Activision customers = fools, EA customers = cognoscenti" school, but I think EA have possibly neglected to maintain some of their big money titles to their detriment - look at NFS. Carbon was pretty good, but then they announced their new direction, and while new titles appeared elsewhere, NFS Pro Street was appalling, Undercover lacklustre, and Shift is pretty much swamped by other circuit racers.
Never played Dead Space, but I cannot agree with the praise for Mirror's Edge. I wanted to like it, and it really was a gorgeous game, but incoherent, frustrating as hell and unbelievably clumsy to control, not to mention the oxymoronic total lack of freedom in a game that is supposed to be about free running. That's one risk they needn't take again.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
"Is it just me, or did that sentence make no sense whatsoever? Also, Blizzard are with Activision, not EA."
It makes sense but isn't worded well. I'll retype it.
'EA are the biggest games publisher in the world if you don't include Activison's revenues from World of Warcraft. When you do include WoW, EA are the second biggest publisher in the world.'
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Did you bother reading my post beyond the (admittedly childish, for which I make no apology) opening statement? I know EA are doing what they have to do to survive. They would be retarded to continue to make games at a loss for me. I made that quite clear in my post, which you seem to have not fully read.
However, despite you thinking I'm merely throwing my toys out of the pram, I'm not. I stand by my statement. It's not that Activision are making games 'people like', they're making games that are featured in the tabloid press and are advertised during Coronation Street. This isn't exclusive to gaming, by any stretch. Perhaps it's not an argument about taste as much as it is about ignorance and inability to make decisions for onesself (is that one word? Feels like it should have an apostrophe, feel free to correct me). Cynical shite sells because the people selling it know how to sell it. That's why Jedward will be Christmas number 1, that's why Transformers 2 topped the box office, and that's why Mirrors Edge failed, because it wasn't an easy sell, and didn't have a huge promo budget.
Of course EA must react, and of course they shouldn't have a studio making games for the few thousand forumites here who will actually buy it. It amazes me that, even in the recession, so many people still don't bother spending 30 seconds to find out if something's utter shite or not before spending £40. I'm reminded of the Henry Ford car quote, “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse”. You ask most gamers what they want and they say a game they've played previously with a few improvements, because they don't know of the possible alternatives.
/wishes the Sun ran Metacritic charts
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show