EA has reportedly cancelled a game based on the Marvel superhero Black Panther—and laid off its developers—in order to ‘put [its] creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.’
At a Glance
- EA is shutting down Cliffhanger Games and cancelling its Black Panther game just two years after the studio's founding.
Electronic Arts has company reportedly shut down Seattle-based game studio Cliffhanger Games, not even two years after announcing the founding of the studio and revealing its flagship game: an open-world action game based on Marvel's Black Panther superhero.
According to IGN—which first reported on the closure—the news was delivered to EA staffers in a letter sent by EA Entertainment president Laura Miele (the second-highest-paid executive at EA in 2024), who told workers that the move was part of a strategy to "sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities." Miele reportedly referenced other recent decisions along these lines, likely including the company's decision last month to lay off over 300 developers across its studios and cancel an Apex Legends spinoff in development at Respawn Entertainment, as well as January's arguably quiet layoff that impacted a number of developers at EA-owned BioWare.
It's unknown if any developers impacted by the reported Cliffhanger Games closure came to the team following a reassignment from BioWare or Respawn. EA apparently also laid off workers on its mobile and central teams. Game Developer has reached out to EA regarding these events and will update the story pending a reply.
The drastic closure raises huge questions about EA's strategy and its relationship with licensed projects, which have previously made up a sizable portion of its release pipeline. Miele apparently told employees that the company is continuing to "invest" in Motive Studios' Iron Man game (another licensed project), and the third Star Wars: Jedi game in development at Respawn Interactive. (Respawn is also supporting the development of BitReactor's Star Wars strategy game Star Wars: Zero Company).
Why do the brilliant business brains at EA keep bungling big games?
In 2024 CEO Andrew Wilson announced that the company would spend $150 million to lay off five percent of its workforce, and shift away from its reliance on third-party licensing to rely on its own intellectual properties.
However, that support seems to already have waned as the teams behind EA-owned properties like Dragon Age or Titanfall (better known today for its battle royale spinoff Apex Legends) have been on the receiving end of the 'sharpened focus' reportedly mentioned by Miele. Layoffs at both studios followed a year where executive compensation reached a collective over $60 million despite a period of sizable layoffs at the time. IGN reports that the Battlefield, Sims, Skate, Mass Effect and Apex Legends franchises remain EA's primary non-sports franchises, though the company's actions regularly cast doubt on those priorities, such as the cancelling of various spinoffs of the Titanfall/Apex Legends series and apparent shake up its sequel strategy for The Sims, putting that series in another stressful position.
This also puts even more pressure on the developers of the Battlefield series, who have gone through multiple reorganizations and leadership changes since the underperformance of Battlefield 2042.
So what other "significant growth opportunities" is EA pursuing? Generative AI, for one. So far, EA still hasn't shown off any of its AI initiatives beyond a literal cardboard box level—but it might be getting into generative AI voice acting, if the mass exit of the Apex Legends French dubbing cast is any indication.