Electronic Arts is canceling its deliberate Black Panther game and shutting down developer Cliffhanger Games, IGN has realized.
In an e mail despatched to employees from EA Entertainment president Laura Miele, Miele mentioned that these modifications, alongside different current cancellations and layoffs, are being achieved to "sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities."
In addition to closing Cliffhanger and canceling Black Panther, EA can also be shedding some people on each its cell and central groups. When requested for an precise quantity of people impacted, EA declined to remark. IGN understands the overall quantity of affected people on this wave is much less than the roughly 300 roles cut last month throughout Respawn and EA's Fan Care groups – however can’t verify by how a lot.
"These decisions are hard," Miele wrote. "They affect people we’ve worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We’re doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA, where we’ve had success helping people land in new roles."
As with previous rounds of layoffs, EA is endeavoring to position affected people in different roles throughout the corporate. The firm has made use of this placement program with every spherical of layoffs lately, an effort that continues to be potential regardless of the fixed workforce cuts seemingly attributable to EA seemingly drastically rising headcount on different groups on the similar time. Per Game File's reporting, EA employed 800 more people as of March of this 12 months than it did the identical time in 2024.
To that finish, Miele's e mail continues, the corporate is specializing in a small handful of franchises going ahead: Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends. Miele additionally reassures EA will proceed to invest in its Iron Man game at Motive and the third Star Wars: Jedi game, in addition to it preserve its cell business regardless of in the present day's cuts, whereas Bioware works on the following Mass Effect. Additionally, final 12 months, CEO Andrew Wilson announced the company would be "moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry."
The e mail doesn't point out EA Sports, however this is because of Miele working EA Entertainment, whereas EA Sports is a separate division. IGN understands that the sports division is unaffected by these modifications for now.
Notably, Marvel and EA's settlement for Black Panther was half of a three-game deal that included Iron Man and a third, unannounced title. Little has been proven of Black Panther up to now since its announcement in 2023, although we all know from a job itemizing it was to be a single-player, action-adventure, open-world game. Black Panther was being developed by the newly-formed, now-closed Cliffhanger Games, which was formed in 2023 with some former builders of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and headed up by Kevin Stephens.
These cuts come on the heels of a number of different rounds of layoffs and cancelations at EA over the previous couple of years and particularly in 2025. Just final month, EA laid off roughly 300 individuals, together with around 100 at Respawn, while canceling an in-development Titanfall game and another incubation project. Earlier this 12 months, EA restructured BioWare, moving some developers to other projects and laying off others. In 2024, there was a large restructuring at EA that resulted in 670 workers laid off company-wide, together with around two dozen workers at Respawn. And in 2023, 50 jobs were cut at BioWare and an unknown number were cut at Codemasters.
Meanwhile, EA just lately applied mandatory return-to-office for all workers, a transfer that some staff advised IGN has left many presently distant employees with issues about what’s going to occur to their roles long-term.
When requested for touch upon the precise quantity impacted, the explanations for these repeated cuts, or if more cuts are anticipated within the close to future, EA referred IGN back to Miele's e mail. Marvel has not but responded to IGN's request for remark.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].