EA Reportedly Cuts 400 Jobs, Pauses a Sims Project and Merges Respawn and DICE

Electronic Arts is reportedly eliminating around 400 jobs across the company, a restructuring that goes well beyond a single team. The reporting says EA has paused development on an unannounced project connected to The Sims, trimmed the team working on Skate, and is bringing Respawn and DICE together under one umbrella.

The cuts come alongside a more dramatic report. According to the same account, EA is closing BioWare and has cancelled the next Mass Effect, which leaves one of the best-known role-playing studios in the industry without a clear future.

The Respawn and DICE combination matters because the two studios anchor very different parts of EA's catalogue. Respawn is behind Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi games, while DICE powers the Battlefield series. Pulling them closer suggests EA wants to concentrate its shooter output rather than run them as separate operations.

The company's defense of the strategy leans on its market position. The reporting quotes EA describing itself as "the number one publisher in Western HD gaming," a line that sits uneasily next to layoffs and studio closures. Many of the affected staff are likely to be left asking how a publisher at the top of its market ended up making this many cuts in one round.