EA Layoffs Reportedly Reach Maxis, Respawn, Motive and Ripple Effect

Reported layoffs at Electronic Arts now appear to reach teams behind The Sims, Battlefield, Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi. The affected studios include Maxis, Motive Studios, Respawn Entertainment, Ripple Effect and Full Circle, according to Vertical Slice. That spread gives the cuts a wider significance than a single project shake-up: they’re landing across teams with different roles in EA’s portfolio, from established franchises to current development work.

The report follows news that BioWare is shutting down and reports of roughly 400 EA job cuts. Together, those reports suggest a company changing both its staffing and its project priorities. The available details don’t establish the full scale or final shape of the restructuring, though. For now, employees’ public accounts provide a studio-by-studio view of who’s been affected.

Employees confirm cuts across studios

Anna Huerta, formerly Maxis’ senior creative director for The Sims 4, said on LinkedIn that her position was affected. She described the restructuring as ending her work with colleagues on projects she cared about, and said she hopes to continue making games with people who value creativity, collaboration and studio culture. Her account gives a human dimension to a corporate decision often described in terms of headcount and portfolio strategy: jobs are also relationships and years of work attached to particular teams.

Motive has also lost staff while working on Marvel’s Iron Man and supporting Battlefield 6. Concept artist Brandon Le and senior gameplay designer Jamieson Shearar each confirmed on LinkedIn that they were affected. Their roles point to cuts touching different parts of game production, from visual development to the design of how a game plays. The reports don’t show whether work on either project has changed as a result.

Ripple Effect has also been affected. Character artist Corey Thomas, outsourcing artist Brandon Garcia and technical artist Turner Spring reported losing their roles. The studio had been supporting Battlefield 6 and working on a new experience for the game, making the reported cuts notable because they reach a team with ongoing responsibilities in the franchise.

At Respawn, UX project manager Randall Wong and operations product manager Catheryn Grant also reported cuts. Their positions sit outside the more visible disciplines of art and gameplay, but production and operations work helps teams coordinate complex projects. The reports don’t say how Respawn’s remaining work will be organized. A gap in the public record.

Project priorities shift

EA’s restructuring coincides with plans to narrow its development slate. In an internal email shared publicly, the company outlined two projects in development: Project Gridiron, a social, open-world American football experience, and a new Fight Night entry, which is in pre-production and will draw on the company’s simulation fighting team.

Those descriptions indicate different stages of commitment. A project in pre-production is still being shaped, while the email describes Project Gridiron as an experience in development. That distinction matters when reading a short list of priorities: it doesn’t tell us how much work has been completed, what staffing each project requires, or how either will change. Here's the thing: a smaller slate may clarify where EA wants its studios focused, but it also leaves open questions about the work that’s being stopped or scaled back.

COO David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber said EA has canceled multiple projects, including Mass Effect, as it makes what they described as deliberate choices around its biggest opportunities. The message points to a broad reset in what EA’s studios are making, while the reported cuts show that the changes are also reaching teams with active projects. The numbers here are underwhelming as an explanation: the stated focus on major opportunities doesn’t, by itself, show how decisions were made or what they mean for each studio.

What the restructuring means for teams

For game makers, a project change can affect more than the team assigned to it. Work is often shared across disciplines and studios, so a canceled or reduced project may have consequences for people supporting production, technology, art or operations. The reports show some of those roles among the affected employees, but they don’t establish how far the impact extends within any studio.

If you're working in this space, the clearest signal is that EA is making changes across several studios while identifying a narrower set of projects. That’s a meaningful shift in emphasis, though the public information remains too limited to map its full consequences. The company’s next decisions about staffing and project scope will determine whether the announced focus translates into stable teams or further disruption.

It remains unclear whether EA’s sports development teams will face layoffs. Separate reports have suggested that the College Football series could be deprioritized in five years, but the company hasn’t confirmed that outcome. That uncertainty matters because EA’s stated project priorities include sports concepts, while the separate report concerns a possible future shift in another series. They’re not evidence of the same decision.