Electronic Arts has shuttered Cliffhanger Games, the studio responsible for creating the Black Panther video game.
Reportedly, Electronic Arts has shuttered Cliffhanger Games, the studio responsible for creating the Black Panther video game based on the famous Marvel Comics character, and abandoned the project. The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees who will be let go as a result of the cancellation, marking EA’s third wave of layoffs this year.
In addition to canceling a Titanfall game in April, Electronic Arts laid off hundreds of workers at Star Wars Jedi developer Respawn Entertainment and a few of its other studios. In an email seen by IGN, EA Entertainment President Laura Miele explained that the studio closure and project cancellation will allow the company to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.” This was in addition to other recent layoffs.
Although Electronic Arts (EA) declined to comment on the exact number of layoffs, rumors suggest that the company is cutting ties with an unspecified number of staff at Cliffhanger Games, its mobile and central teams, and elsewhere. Compared to EA’s previous round of layoffs in April, when 300–400 positions were eliminated, including approximately 100 at Respawn, the current round appears to have resulted in a smaller number of employees being let go.
Apparently, the company is making an effort to locate other studios where some of the affected employees can find work. Hundreds of BioWare personnel were permanently transferred to different projects following the studio’s downsizing following the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, so this is very comparable.
Allegedly writing to her employees, Miele stated, “These decisions are hard.” She went on to say, “They influence people we’ve worked with, learned from, and experienced actual moments with.” Every effort is being made to assist them, including finding employment opportunities at EA, where we have helped individuals secure new employment.
Video games, including Apex Legends, Skate, The Sims, and Battlefield, will now receive more attention from Electronic Arts. Apparently, both Motive’s Iron Man game and Respawn’s third Star Wars Jedi game will continue development. BioWare will continue development on the next Mass Effect game in the meantime.
Cliffhanger Games revealed their upcoming third-person action-adventure game Black Panther in 2023—the Seattle-based “triple-A development studio” known as Cliffhanger collaborated on the project with Marvel Games.
In the announcement, the business stated, “Our mission is to build a big, interactive world that lets players experience what it’s like to be the Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda.”Kevin Stephens, formerly of Middle-earth: Shadow of War developer Monolith Productions, is now the head of Cliffhanger. In February, Monolith Productions was shuttered by Warner Bros.
A statement from Stephens after the game’s initial reveal stated, “Wakanda is a rich Super Hero sandbox, and our mission is to develop an epic world for players who love Black Panther and want to explore the world of Wakanda as much as we do.”
Hundreds of employees were laid off last month, and development on a Titanfall game, which was being developed by a Respawn subsidiary, was halted by EA. Supposedly an extraction shooter taking place in the Titanfall universe, the scrapped game went by the codename R7.
Since the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard was a commercial failure, BioWare reportedly had to lay off employees earlier this year as well. The reorganization allegedly resulted in the permanent departure of dozens of EA workers and the dismissal of “around two dozen” more.
