IGN has learned that Electronic Arts is canceling its in-development Black Panther game and shutting down Cliffhanger Games, the studio behind the project.
In an internal email to staff, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele explained that these moves, alongside other recent cancellations and layoffs, are intended to "sharpen our focus and direct our creative resources toward the most promising growth opportunities."
Beyond closing Cliffhanger and canceling Black Panther, EA is also letting go of staff from its mobile and central teams. When asked for the exact number of employees affected, EA declined to provide specifics. IGN understands the total impact is smaller than the approximately 300 roles eliminated last month across Respawn and EA's Fan Care teams, though the exact difference remains unconfirmed.
"These are difficult decisions," Miele stated. "They impact colleagues we've collaborated with, learned from, and shared meaningful experiences with. We are committed to supporting them through this transition, including helping them find new roles within EA, where we've previously had success in reassigning team members."
As with prior restructuring, EA is attempting to relocate affected employees to other positions within the company. This internal placement initiative has been a consistent part of recent layoff cycles, a practice that remains feasible despite ongoing team reductions, partly because EA appears to be significantly expanding other divisions simultaneously. According to Game File, EA's total workforce actually grew by 800 employees between March 2024 and March 2025.
Miele's email further outlined that the company will concentrate its efforts on a select group of core franchises moving forward: Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends. She also confirmed EA's continued investment in the Iron Man game at Motive Studio and the third Star Wars: Jedi title, while reaffirming its commitment to mobile gaming despite the current cuts. BioWare, meanwhile, continues development on the next Mass Effect. This strategy follows last year's announcement from CEO Andrew Wilson that EA would be "stepping back from future licensed IP that we do not believe will thrive in the evolving games industry."
The email did not reference EA Sports, as that division operates separately under its own leadership. IGN has confirmed that the sports division is not affected by these latest changes.
Notably, the Black Panther project was part of a three-game partnership between Marvel and EA, which also includes the Iron Man game and a third, unannounced title. Little had been revealed about Black Panther since its 2023 announcement, though a job listing described it as a single-player, open-world action-adventure. The game was in development at the newly-established Cliffhanger Games, a studio founded in 2023 by veteran developers from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and led by Kevin Stephens.
This latest round of cuts follows multiple other layoffs and project cancellations at EA in recent years, with several occurring in 2025 alone. Last month, EA laid off approximately 300 staff, including about 100 at Respawn, and canceled a Titanfall project and another early-stage game. Earlier this year, BioWare underwent a restructuring that shifted developers to other projects and resulted in additional layoffs. In 2024, a major company-wide restructuring led to 670 employees losing their jobs, including two dozen at Respawn. Further back in 2023, BioWare eliminated 50 roles, and an undisclosed number of staff were cut at Codemasters.
Concurrently, EA recently instituted a mandatory return-to-office policy for all employees. Some staff have told IGN that this directive has raised concerns among currently remote workers about the long-term security of their positions.
When pressed for details on the number of employees affected, the reasons behind the repeated cuts, or whether further layoffs are anticipated, EA directed IGN back to Miele's original email. Marvel has not yet responded to IGN's request for comment.
