LogInThree waves of layoffs happening back to back probably have something to do with it.
First, there was a round of job cuts at BioWare after the disappointing performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, then nearly 400 people lost their jobs in late April, and now with the Black Panther game canceled and its developer Cliffhanger Games shut down – costing around 75 jobs – you don't need a genius to see that something's definitely going on at Electronic Arts behind the scenes.
Sadly, most likely due to strict NDAs, few employees from EA or its subsidiaries are willing to talk openly about the company's current state, leaving it a mystery to outsiders what's really hiding behind EA's sweet PR-talk about "long-term strategic priorities." Recently though, a small drop of information did seep through the cracks, with Senior Encounter Designer at Respawn – a studio that lost around 100 people in the second wave – Patrick Wren confirming publicly that morale at EA is currently in the gutter.
Respawn
Reacting to news about Black Panther's cancellation, Wren briefly remarked that morale within the studio "has been at an all-time low" – hardly a surprise, considering three waves of layoffs would make anyone feel like there's a sword of Damocles hanging over them at all times.
He added that he "can say that much," possibly hinting that he knows more about what's happening at Electronic Arts, and that low morale might be the least of their concerns, but can't reveal anything further without risking getting fined and/or fired.
Interestingly, it's not the first studio whose developers have complained about being demoralized in recent days, with another one being Bungie.
Morale at the studio was reported to be in "free-fall" across all departments, with insiders saying "the vibes have never been worse." The main reasons include a corporate culture where management doesn't listen to regular devs, the greediness of Bungie's executives, the gaming community's mixed-to-negative reaction to Marathon, and, of course, the company recently getting caught up in its fourth art theft scandal.
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