AI can ship that. Just tell Claude to finish it.

DrUsmanSaleemlayoffs are coming a few months after EA went private in a $55 billion buyout led by Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners

The new owners aren't screwing around.. they want stronger financial returns. There goes the creative output which IMO was already underperforming but it had a chance to pick up pace. Now tighter budgets and less resources with AI lurking in the shadows, the future looks pretty bleak.

EA Sports "Its in the game shareholders pockets"

Had my wife known they were working on a new Sims, she would be pretty upset about this..

Some secrets are better left unsaid..

wheresmycarThe new owners aren't screwing around.. they want stronger financial returns. There goes the creative output which IMO was already underperforming but it had a chance to pick up pace. Now tighter budgets and less resources with AI lurking in the shadows, the future looks pretty bleak.

EA Sports "Its in the game shareholders pockets"

the problem is, the "creative output" was hemorrhaging $, they stopped making games that people want to play, and it shows, so, they needed to cut people

the question is, did they cut the right people

I wonder when the bone will be exposed from all of the cuts and that buy out. I know Saudi Arabia is getting hammered by the Houthis from Yemen and a lot of their money making oil infrastructure is damaged or inoperable, so they may be going into the red now. $20 billion in debt is nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure.

Athenathe problem is, the "creative output" was hemorrhaging $, they stopped making games that people want to play, and it shows, so, they needed to cut people

the question is, did they cut the right people

I agree but cutting 400 in a single sweep does raise eyebrows. Feels more like a balance sheet and P&L board room decision opposed to proper vetting to separate the good apples from the bad.

Who knows, maybe the best decision of all time with big surprises for everybody. I'm just not as optimistic as I used to be.

wheresmycarI agree but cutting 400 in a single sweep does raise eyebrows. Feels more like a balance sheet and P&L board room decision opposed to proper vetting to separate the good apples from the bad.

Who knows, maybe the best decision of all time with big surprises for everybody. I'm just not as optimistic as I used to be.

How do you know they DIDNT do the proper vetting? You know EA isn't an indie publisher. They have 14,600 employees.

Cutting 2% of the workforce from studios that have failed to put out successful product doesn't sound like random meat cleaving to me.

TheinsanegamerNThey have 14,600 employees.

Cutting 2% of the workforce from studios that have failed to put out successful product doesn't sound like random meat cleaving to me.

Agree. And while I should probably feel bad some people are loosing their jobs, I don't. I think this is great news!

But this is EA and with EA's track record this is a baby step which probably will not have the affect gamers are looking for - it certainly won't undo all the harm they've done to the industry in the last decade or more!

i like the dragon age trilogy, but the recent one was not what i was expecting...
prime example of what people wanted and then finished product they give...

These guys are already in the lost case corner for a while (think decade+) now. Its a Ubisoft situation. The only plus being that EA has some reasonable cash flow and cash cows left, but honestly? Its all old news and there is nothing new on the horizon. All they can do is their tired old sequels and more often than not, those are straight up underwhelming.

In the meantime, they seem adamant to destroy everything that's good in gaming with the intent of somehow monetizing it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where your profits are gonna go. EA for a long time clearly banked on 'capturing' the player with underhand tactics and online shenanigans and it has failed every single time. The only idiots that fail to understand this are the FIFA (oh sorry EA FC) buyers, along with most other sports related releases that realistically haven't changed in 10 years either.

I'm quite sure the new owners are going to go hard on the sports bit. But other than that? All I see coming out of this company is product that somehow tries to fuck with you. I won't be touching it ever.

TesselatorAgree. And while I should probably feel bad some people are loosing their jobs, I don't. I think this is great news!

But this is EA and with EA's track record this is a baby step which probably will not have the affect gamers are looking for - it certainly won't undo all the harm they've done to the industry in the last decade or more!

I feel bad when I read articles like, "Game successfully launches, devs all fired with no notice", then go to the comments section to see people defending the corp. Apparently game devs should be payed chump change, go to the office every day (likely in the most expensive areas of their country) and have no job security but also standup to the suits. The last point usually has me do a double take.

3% is just spillage. Sounds like they were cancelling some projects to focus on others, so moved some people across. Not everyone was needed so they were made redundant. As long as it was handled properly, with proper notice and whatnot, it's fine.
That said, it's EA. So we might get a union or lawsuit article soon lol

TheinsanegamerNHow do you know they DIDNT do the proper vetting? You know EA isn't an indie publisher. They have 14,600 employees.

Cutting 2% of the workforce from studios that have failed to put out successful product doesn't sound like random meat cleaving to me.

I don't... hence "does raise eyebrows" and "feels more like" and "I'm just not as optimistic as I used to be"

First impressions: 400 weren't necessarily individually judged unsuitable for their jobs but EA overtime decided that certain projects/studio teams (and investments) weren't cutting it. So feels like a broader business decision rather than individual employee performance based layoffs.

I'm also sticking with: "EA Sports "Its in the game shareholders pockets".

razaronI feel bad when I read articles like, "Game successfully launches, devs all fired with no notice", then go to the comments section to see people defending the corp. Apparently game devs should be payed chump change, go to the office every day (likely in the most expensive areas of their country) and have no job security but also standup to the suits. The last point usually has me do a double take.

I'm in the industry myself and have done a lot of contract work for various studios (even back to the 8-bit days) but my opinions based on what I see, what most other talented patrons agree with and what is commonly commented on publicly, are not welcome here. I've been thread banned and had my replies deleted so I give up. I guess it'll remain a hidden truth as far as TPU is concerned. Maybe I can say this (I'll give it a try):

It has to do with competence to a degree for sure but mostly the reasons an individual is seeking a career in the gaming industry, and within the organization; the hiring practices. Too often hiring is based on cronyism, political patronage, partisanism and ideological favoritism to the point were even experience and competence are ignored or sacrificed - not to mention the alignment issues. If those political and ideological leanings don't align with a love for gaming in a classical sense, or even the game genera and lore; the game suffers, the studio suffers and the customers become uninterested, dissatisfied and even disgruntled. Maybe think of Lord British as an early example. He loved (was into) the genera so much he changed his life around it - bought a castle in England, began wearing capes and carrying a sword. This is the opposite of what we see as a result of EA's influences and structure.

Insiders, players and observers alike, often describe it as an infestation when it gets to a certain point. EA's policies and structure prior to the S.A. purchase, promote and encourage this sort of disease or infestation - as do several other organizations we see (or will soon see) failing or laying off in large numbers.

If my dog were sick from a parasite infestation I would be very happy when those parasites were removed. If my cat was ill from human over-handling I would be glad when that situation was remedied - either by removing the person, relocating the cat or retraining the human over-handeler. And it's no different for the studios I've worked with or admire. I'm very happy to see the infestation being addressed.

I would explain what I see as to the [wrong] reasons certain people seek employment in the gaming industry but I think it cuts too close to why certain mods here get upset by it's mention so, I'll leave that to your imagination.

razaronAs long as it was handled properly, with proper notice and whatnot, it's fine.

Agreed! Of course!

razaronThat said, it's EA. So we might get a union or lawsuit article soon lol

Hehe... I laugh but this is now [likely] a very different EA and I can't wait to see what they do next - I wonder how much influence MBS is exerting?

the real question is who genuinely wishes to play these games? i dont really see an issue with this really.