EA cancels Black Panther sport and closes studio growing it

EA is cancelling its Black Panther sport and shutting the studio creating it, Cliffhanger Video games, as half of a bigger spherical of layoffs on the firm, IGN reports. The third-person action-adventure sport was originally announced in July 2023 as one in every of a number of Marvel initiatives being developed at EA studios.

IGN writes {that a} smaller variety of individuals are being laid off than the previous round of cuts that impacted Titanfall developer Respawn, however EA remains to be eliminating roles outdoors of Cliffhanger, together with individuals on the writer’s “cell and central groups.” EA is reportedly telling workers that the layoffs are a solution to “sharpen our focus and put our inventive power behind essentially the most vital progress alternatives.”

As of proper now, these “alternatives” embody an Iron Man game in improvement at EA Motive, the subsequent Star Wars Jedi sport from Respawn, and new entries in a couple of key franchises, like The Sims, Battlefield, Skate and Apex Legends. Past that, the corporate has EA Sports activities and the subsequent Mass Impact sport, although Bioware has gone by way of multiple rounds of layoffs since 2023, so there’s uncertainty there, too. In an analogous solution to the way it approached Bioware’s restructuring, IGN studies that EA is looking for roles for not less than some Cliffhanger Video games workers in different components of the corporate.

Engadget has contacted EA for remark and can replace this text if we hear again.

EA rising disinterest in licensed video games as been public since not less than February 2024, when CEO Andrew Wilson announced that the corporate was “shifting away from improvement of future licensed IP that we don’t consider can be profitable in our altering business.” The corporate not too long ago introduced a brand new technique sport utilizing the Star Wars license — Star Wars Zero Company — however that appears extra like an outlier than the norm.

EA’s Black Panther sport wasn’t the one venture that includes the character — Amy Hennig’s Marvel 19943: Rise of Hydra hasn’t been cancelled but — nevertheless it does appears unusual the corporate gave up so simply. Black Panther made over $1.3 billion throughout its unique run in theaters. It appears fully doable the identical viewers that loved the film would present up for a brand new sport that includes their favourite Marvel character.