Electronic Arts is canceling its planned Black Panther game and shuttering its developer, Cliffhanger Games.
In an email sent to staff from EA Entertainment president Laura Miele, Miele said that these changes, alongside other recent cancellations and layoffs, are being done to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.” We think this translates to “we think the Black Panther moment is behind us.” They’re at least trying to help people migrate to other roles within the company, which is more than a lot of companies would do.
When queried, EA declined to comment on exactly how many of their team members for mobile and central development had also been laid off. They laid off 300 people last month from Respawn and EA’s Fan Care teams, and this wave is less than that, but figures on exactly how many were let go are unavailable.
The company is narrowing its focus considerably going forward, sticking with Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends. Miele also reassures EA will continue to invest in its Iron Man game at Motive and the third Star Wars: Jedi game, as well Bioware and the the pending Mass Effect title, as it maintain its mobile business despite today’s cuts. EA Sports is a separate division from EA Entertainment, and is unaffected by the layoffs.
Last year, 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.” Marvel and EA’s agreement for Black Panther was part of a three-game deal that included Iron Man and a third, unannounced title, so it’s obvious that some serious negotations were happening behind the scenes, and likely a bit more tumultuous than they’re letting on.
The Black Panther game, announced in 2023, would have been a single-player, action-adventure open world game. The developer, Cliffhanger Games, was formed in 2023 for the project, with some former developers of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and headed up by Kevin Stephens.
EA has been running multiple rounds of layoffs over the last few years, but more heavily in 2025. Just last month, they laid off roughly 300 individuals, including around 100 at Respawn, while canceling an in-development Titanfall game and another incubation project. Bioware had gotten a massive restructuring earlier this year, moving some developers to other projects and laying off others. There was another restructuring in 2024 that saw 670 works hit the unemployment line, including around two dozen at Respawn, and 50 jobs were cut at Bioware in 2023.
Meanwhile, EA recently implemented mandatory return-to-office for all workers, a move that has left many currently remote workers with concerns about what will happen to their roles long-term. Not all of these workers were hired with geographical considerations in mind when they were hired in the first place, and this inflexibility will likely cause some additional involuntary worker exodus and perhaps the loss of irreplaceable talent.
I remember when a friend introduced me to the brand-new game The Sims. (Could that have really been 25 years ago?)
I can’t help but wonder if a part of the problem is due to the “improvements” being made in America since early this year. I know more than one game company that has suffered as a result.