EA cancels Black Panther game, closes Cliffhanger, and lays off an unspecified number of developers
Cliffhanger Games' Black Panther game has been canceled at EA. The studio has been shut down, and employees have been laid off across the company.
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Today, Iron Man game, appear unaffected by this news.
Black Panther game cancelled at EA, studio shut down, unknown number of layoffs
EA has had a rocky few years, despite the major publisher’s headcount steadily increasing for the last decade, according to Mass Effect title.
In a statement about the layoffs, Miele said the company’s goal is to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.” In the last few years, EA has worked to find laid-off employees further work in other studios, and that appears to be happening again here. Though there’s no way to know how effective this will be or how many employees will be able to find a new position. This seemed to be the case with Dragon Age: The Veilguard came to an end, there was not enough work to be done on the Mass Effect game to keep employees working.
Video game development has always been an unpredictable field, but the last few years have seen unprecedented levels of layoffs across the industry. Just in 2024 alone, an estimated 14,600 developers were laid off, according to a tracker updated by Riot Games technical artist Farhan Noor. Hopefully, the developers affected can find more stable work, and the industry as a whole can move past this tumultuous time.
