Despite record launch: EA lays off employees at "Battlefield" studios

Electronic Arts is shrinking the “Battlefield” studios: After the successful launch of “Battlefield 6” last fall, employees at several development teams now have to give up their jobs.

EA has since confirmed a corresponding IGN report. The US publisher does not provide any information on how many people will be laid off. “We have made targeted changes within our Battlefield organization to better align our teams with what is most important to our community,” EA writes in the statement. “Battlefield” remains a high priority.

According to IGN, the layoffs affect several studios that worked together on “Battlefield 6,” including Criterion, DICE, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios. According to the report, all of these studios remain active, so they are not being completely closed down. However, several teams and offices within the studios are impacted.

Record start, but sluggish development

Last October, Electronic Arts had the most successful launch in the history of the shooter series with “Battlefield 6.” In the first three days, the multiplayer shooter had sold over 7 million copies. According to an EA press release, players completed 172 million online matches on launch weekend, while streams of the game collected more than 15 million hours. In the US, “Battlefield 6” was the best-selling game of the past year.

However, a look at SteamDB shows, for example, how negatively player numbers developed over the months: at the start, a good 700,000 people played “Battlefield 6” on Steam simultaneously; most recently, it was only 50,000 during peak times. It is not unusual for live service games like “Battlefield 6” to lose players over the months. However, the narrative around “Battlefield 6” also turned for the worse: The online shooter, which had launched with largely positive reviews, was most recently recommended by less than 50 percent of Steam players. The community is therefore dissatisfied with the further development. Among the most frequent criticisms are balance issues.

The development of a video game like “Battlefield 6” requires significantly more resources and development work than continuing an existing live service title. The case of “Battlefield 6” shows that even the success of a game is no guarantee of secure jobs.

(dahe)