- EA has canceled Cliffhanger Games’ Black Panther game and shuttered the studio
- EA Entertainment president Laura Miele told staff that the decision was made to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities”
- Going forward, EA will focus on franchises like Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends, while also supporting games like Motive’s Iron Man, the third Star Wars: Jedi game, and Mass Effect 5
Electronic Arts has canceled Cliffhanger Games’ Black Panther game and closed down the studio.
In an email sent to staff (as seen and reported by IGN), EA Entertainment president Laura Miele shared the announcement and said the decision to cancel the game and close the studio was to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.”
The number of employees affected by the decision hasn’t been confirmed at this time, but IGN understands that the total number of layoffs is less than the 300 roles that were cut last month across Respawn and several other studios.
It’s also understood that EA has laid off some individuals from its mobile and central teams.
“These decisions are hard,” Miele wrote in the email. “They affect people we’ve worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We’re doing everything we can to support them – including finding opportunities within EA, where we’ve had success helping people land in new roles.”
Miele’s email also mentioned that EA will now focus on a small handful of franchises going forward, like Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends.
The president also said that EA will continue to invest in Motive’s Iron Man game and Respawn’s third Star Wars: Jedi game, the Mass Effect 5, while also maintaining its mobile business
Cliffhanger’s Black Panther project was announced in 2023 and was being worked on by developers who previously led the Shadow of Mordor series.
Platforms weren’t confirmed at the time, and there was no trailer to accompany the game’s reveal, but we did know that it was an “original, third-person, single-player Black Panther game”.
At the time, project lead Kevin Stephens said the game was going to be a “definitive and authentic Black Panther experience”.
“Wakanda is a rich superhero sandbox, and our mission is to develop an epic world for players who love Black Panther and want to explore the world of Wakanda as much as we do,” Stephens said.
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