As each day goes by, there’s a growing sense of anticipation in the air regarding a potential second crash looming over the video game industry.
This sentiment is fueled by increasing economic challenges that gaming companies are forced to face, along with diminishing ESG capital funding, and the consequences of aggressive employee expansions aimed at tax benefits alongside failed product launches.
Just days ago, Sony made headlines by shuttering their entire PlayStation London Studio and letting go of approximately 900 employees. Now, the spotlight shifts to Electronic Arts, the next company facing impending layoffs.
Electronic Arts has revealed plans to reduce its workforce by 5%, equating to approximately 670 employees, in alignment with its reported headcount of 13,400 in 2023. Additionally, the company intends to initiate the “sunsetting” process for a selection of games and pivot away from the development of specific licensed games based upon various intellectual properties.
Reports indicate that one of the games canceled was a first-person-shooter based on the Star Wars franchise which was being developed by Respawn Entertainment, which was likely to be another microtransaction filled wonder akin to DICE and their nefarious reboots of Star Wars Battlefront.
And yet not a fucking peep about the prospects of a third Titanfall installment, go figure.
EA clarified that it doesn’t anticipate certain licensed intellectual properties to thrive “in our evolving industry.” probably due to the fact that consumers have ultimately stopped bending over for the prospect of being milked into buying games based upon beloved franchises that ultimately end up being live service disasters, not just for the players but thankfully for the companies that make them.
Electronic Arts has extensive ties to franchises such as Star Wars, UFC, F1 and the NFL, but it remains uncertain whether games linked to these licenses will be affected, but I highly doubt it considering it’s these cash grab annual sports releases that actually generates them their revenue thanks to loot boxes and in-game “points” purchases.
Oh yeah, and Apex Legends is still a thing.
CEO Andrew Wilson stated in a press release, This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities. Including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow.”
But you and I both know that this is a whole load of bullshit. Recent Electronic Arts titles, such as Immortals of Aveum, have been disastrous from a financial standpoint. This particular game incurred a staggering loss of $125 million due to its lackluster story and overall poor quality.
Notably, EA’s decision to delay the game’s release coincided with the launch window of Bethesda’s highly anticipated Starfield, combined with a minimal marketing effort for Immortals of Aveum, the writing was on the wall.
Sports shovelware aside, another recent noteworthy game by Electronic Arts was the abysmal remake of Dead Space.
EA Motive spared no effort in creating a soulless remake of an iconic EA classic. Implementing a built-in warning system to caution sensitive players about potential horror in a mature-rated horror game is one matter, but toning down the gore takes it to another level entirely.
Additionally, the studio embraced contemporary gaming trends tailored to modern audiences, including an abundance of revised signs throughout the USG Ishimura featuring race-swapped characters. However, it’s evident that diversity wasn’t the sole agenda EA Motive was advocating for.
Anti-capitalist depictions, inclusive all gender bathrooms, these sparked controversy when the game launched but what really takes the cake is what EA Motive have done to the female representation inside of Dead Space.
Similar to many other game studios led by progressives, Electronic Arts and EA Motive demonstrate a fear of embracing femininity. This is evident in their tendency to drastically alter conservative designs of female characters. For example, Kendra underwent breast reduction surgery and was aged to appear haggard, while Nicole’s appearance now resembles that of a grandmother.
The rationale is straightforward. A significant portion of women in the gaming industry are progressive radicals, leading to a fear of portraying beauty. Furthermore, ESG’s core values often coincide with these tendencies. Thus, altering female characters by reducing their physical attractiveness not only aligns with “destroying” the “patriarchy” but also aligns with boosting EA’s investment within the woke hedge fund bubble.
This is precisely why these types of games are faltering consistently.
The extensive development period comes with a hefty price tag, particularly for a company as substantial as Electronic Arts. Despite briefly topping sales charts, the Dead Space Remake only managed to reach nearly 31,000 concurrent players on Steam, hardly enough to deem it a “success.”
Yet, to date, there hasn’t been any official confirmation from EA regarding the game’s sales figures or their assessment of its financial viability.
Based on an SEC filing, EA’s restructuring is projected to incur expenses ranging from $125 million to $165 million. Reductions in office space expenses alone are anticipated to contribute between $50 million and $65 million.
Employee severance and associated costs are estimated to fall between $40 million and $55 million, while licensor commitment costs are expected to be in the range of $35 million to $45 million.
Elsewhere, Deck Nine Games, known for their work on the inclusive Life is Strange series which serves as an advertisement for LGBT narratives, is reportedly undergoing layoffs affecting approximately 20% of its workforce.
It’s striking to observe that it’s consistently Western companies or Western-based branches that undergo frequent staff layoffs. These are often companies that have adopted ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) inclusive hiring practices, prioritizing checkboxes over qualifications.
They invest tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars in reshaping beloved franchises into unrecognizable garbage riddled with political agendas and identity politics, leading to significant financial losses.
I haven’t observed Japanese gaming companies dismissing their native Japanese employees. Only companies like Bandai Namco, SEGA, and Sony, which have expanded globally, are now letting go of workers employed across all continents.
The sooner the industry collapses the sooner it will compel companies to innovate and produce superior products that consumers actually desire, rather than pathetic slop produced at a massive loss to merely push “the message.”
