EA Announces New Layoffs At Respawn, Two Projects Axed
EA has just announced a fresh wave of layoffs at their subsidiary studio Respawn Entertainment alongside the cancellation of two games.
Looks like the main Titanfall franchise has well and truly fallen
One of my biggest gripes with the video game industry, particularly the AAA side of things, is the layoff of hard-working staff and the closure of studios. With the number of layoffs affecting video game developers continuing to rise year on year, it’s any wonder that there are still studios able to publish games. Sadly, it seems a number of developers over at Titanfall creators, Respawn Entertainment, will be adding to that ever-growing list.
The news was announced over on Respawn’s socials, the layoffs branded as “targeted team adjustments” in a dreaded JPEG of Doom. Around 100 employees from Respawn will be let go as part of this latest round of staff cuts, but to add further insult to injury, two projects that were in development at Respawn are no longer going ahead. One of the projects is meant to have been a spin-off title of the Titanfall franchise.
It seems anything set in the Titanfall universe since their battle royale take on the lore, Apex Legends, is doomed to fail. In this instance, rumours are pointing to the cancelled Titanfall spin-off as it being an extraction shooter. I had assumed half of the appeal of a battle royale was attempting to extract with your loot, but maybe they were trying for a release akin to Escape From Tarkov.
The lay offs and cancellation of games is yet another blow to those of us awaiting Titanfall 3, as Respawn seem to be focusing their remaining talent on further updates for Apex Legends and the upcoming sequel to Star Wars: Jedi Survivor.
Respawn aren’t the the only studio affected, as EA are letting go of between 300 and 400 staff across all of their studios. Fingers crossed the staff affected are able to find new roles soon. While the number of layoffs doesn’t seem as extreme as the past few years, it’s always disappointing to hear the talent behind some of the best games on the market are being let go.
What do you think of these layoffs? Do you think we’ll ever see a Titanfall 3 or are we doomed to repeat the Apex Legends cycle? Let us know in the comments.
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