EA lays off Battlefield studio staff after record Battlefield 6 launch

Electronic Arts has laid off an unspecified number of workers across its Battlefield teams, affecting staff at Criterion, DICE, Ripple Effect and Motive Studios. ¹² The company has not said how many people lost their jobs or which roles were cut.

What EA did say: a spokesperson described “select changes” to the Battlefield organization “to better align our teams around what matters most to our community.” ¹³ The company added that Battlefield remains one of its biggest priorities and that it will keep investing, guided by player feedback and Battlefield Labs. ² Staff were reportedly told the cuts are a “realignment.” ¹ Translated into plain numbers, the number is currently not available.

All four studios remain operational. The cuts appear to hit a mix of teams across several studios and offices. ¹

The timing is the awkward part. Battlefield 6 launched in October 2025 and EA called it the biggest launch in franchise history, with more than seven million copies sold in three days. ⁴³ It was also the best-selling game in the United States in 2025. ¹ Four studios built it, in an effort to take on Call of Duty. ³

Since then the numbers have cooled. Steam concurrent players peaked at 747,440 at launch and now typically sit in the tens of thousands, with a recent peak of 67,000. ¹² Steam reviews have slid from “Mostly Positive” to “Mixed,” with players citing heavy monetization, generative AI cosmetics and a thinner content schedule than expected. ¹ Season 2 was delayed to make room for community feedback. ¹ The free-to-play battle royale mode, Redsec, carries a “Mostly Negative” rating on recent Steam reviews. ¹ Steam is not the whole picture, since the game also sells on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. ¹

The cuts land at a busy moment for EA. The publisher is being acquired by an investor group for about $55 billion, a deal expected to close between April and June of this year. ¹ Internally, EA is reportedly saying the layoffs are unrelated to the acquisition. ¹ Franchise head Vince Zampella died in a car accident in December. ¹² Another EA studio, Full Circle, the Skate developer, was hit with layoffs last month. ³

This report rests on IGN’s account, which the other outlets have repeated, along with EA’s statement. ¹³ Reasons beyond the company’s wording have not been given.

Our read: A record launch followed by a layoff notice is becoming a familiar sequence in live-service shooters, where the sales spike is the easy part and the retention curve is the bill. EA’s statement says the franchise is a priority and the headcount is being adjusted, and both can be true. The next EA earnings call is the likeliest place for a number to appear. The studios are still open; the staff list is shorter.

Footnotes

1. ign.com, “EA Lays Off Staff Across Battlefield Studios”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

2. Eurogamer, “EA lays off staff across Battlefield Studios, following last year’s record-breaking Battlefield 6 debut”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. The Verge, “Battlefield 6 teams hit with layoffs despite ‘biggest launch in franchise history’”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. GamesIndustry.biz, “Battlefield 6 sells over 7m units in three days, EA confirms”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩