If you heard the news this week about Electronic Arts, then you may have heard they are laying off a lot of people. While it is true that the company is making some cuts, they are not “layoffs” in the traditional sense and they are not downsizing because SWTOR has failed.
Actually, EA, like many gaming companies, has a huge variety of projects going on at different times. They may increase staff while they finish up a game project and then let those people go to other departments or let them go completely once the game is completed. This is how the industry works. Most game designers, writers and artists are hired on a project-by-project basis, not as actually company staff members.
EA itself has basically said as much when the rumors spread about the layoffs:
“There are no lay-offs as such, we always have projects growing and morphing,” EA told MCV. “”At any given time there are new people coming in and others leaving. EA is growing and hiring and building teams to support the growing demand for digital games and services.””
While it’s easy to speculate about the success or lack of success of the company, it makes just as much sense that they are just restructuring based on the current projects they have in the mix. Personally, I don’t think it’s any real indication of the performance of certain games, such as SWTOR that were recently released.
What do you think? Is EA trying to cover something up or are they being straight about the rumors?
