Battlefield 6 became the best-selling shooter of 2025. A few months after launch, EA still laid off dozens of employees at the studios that made it. Now, according to insiders, a similar story is playing out across the entire company — layoffs have started in several divisions at once, and this looks like just the beginning.
Table of Contents
What Insider Destin Legarie Said About EA’s Layoffs
Word of the new layoff wave came from industry analyst Destin Legarie, who regularly shares industry insider reports citing sources inside game companies. According to him, EA employees are already receiving termination notices across multiple parts of the business at once. The first round is expected to be small, but bigger cuts are reportedly coming later. EA has not officially commented on the situation.
What we know so far:
-
employees in several EA divisions are receiving layoff notices;
-
the first wave is described as relatively small;
-
the insider’s sources warn of larger cuts down the line;
-
EA has not confirmed any official numbers or made a statement.
Why the Job Cuts Line Up With EA’s $55 Billion Buyout
The timing makes sense once you look at what’s happening with EA itself. The company is being acquired by an investor consortium made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake Partners. The deal is worth around $55 billion, shareholders approved it back in December 2025, and it’s now awaiting regulatory clearance. A significant portion of that purchase price typically gets loaded onto the acquired company as debt — and cutting payroll fast is usually the quickest way to service it.
This Is EA’s Second Layoff Wave in 2026
The current cuts aren’t the first this year. Back in March 2026, EA laid off around 300 employees across Battlefield Studios — the umbrella that includes DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect, and Motive. The irony is that it happened right after Battlefield 6’s record-breaking sales.
| Timeline | What Happened | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | Layoffs across Battlefield Studios | around 300 people |
| June 2026 | Termination notices across several EA divisions | first wave, described as small |
| Expected next | Larger-scale layoffs | no figures confirmed yet |
A game’s commercial success no longer guarantees job security for the team that built it.
EA Isn’t Alone: Layoffs Are Spreading Across the Games Industry
Analysts are also flagging upcoming cuts at Xbox, where gaming chief Asha Sharma is reportedly weighing studio closures. Sony’s Bungie is going through its third round of layoffs after writing down hundreds of millions of dollars tied to Destiny 2 and Marathon’s weak performance. Journalist Sylvain Trinel has warned that early July could be a rough stretch for several publishers at once, including EA, Sony, and BioWare.
According to the GDC State of the Game Industry 2026 report, based on a survey of more than 2,300 developers, one in three US game workers has been laid off in the past two years. The reason is the same one driving EA’s cuts: AAA budgets have climbed to $200–300 million, with marketing costs often doubling that figure.
Which EA Studios Are Most at Risk
The loudest concern is around BioWare. Developers there say they’ve been bracing for the worst since the EA buyout was first announced — some have been updating their portfolios, others are already job hunting on the side. The logic tracks: deals like this tend to hit studios working on expensive single-player projects harder than profitable live-service franchises like Apex Legends, EA Sports FC, or The Sims.
When Will EA Confirm the Layoffs
For now, this remains a rumor — albeit one backed by sources inside the company. EA traditionally doesn’t comment on stories like this until it makes an official announcement, which is also how the March Battlefield Studios cuts played out. The clearest timing marker to watch is the regulators’ final decision on the acquisition, expected in the coming months.
For players, this is more than just corporate headcount news. Every layoff wave raises the risk of slower live-service updates, paused projects, and, based on recent history, cancelled titles that were already announced. Keep an eye on two things going forward: EA’s official response and the regulatory approval of the deal — those two events will likely show just how deep these cuts really go.
