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EA lays off more than 100 Apex Legends QA testers via Zoom

EA reportedly laid off over 100 Apex Legends testers during a Zoom call.

Donovan Erskine

February 28, 2023 11:05 AM

Electronic Arts

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Video game industry layoffs were a common occurrence over the first two months of 2023, and that streak is unfortunately not over. According to a new report, Apex Legends publisher Electronic Arts laid off more than 100 QA testers of the battle royale first-person shooter during a Zoom call earlier today.

It was reported by Kotaku that EA had fired over 100 members of its Apex Legends quality assurance team today. The outlet claims to have spoken with three separate sources familiar with the situation. These workers were all contractors at the company’s Baton Rogue, Louisiana location. The workers were apparently invited to an unscheduled Zoom meeting early this morning. It was during this call that EA informed the entire QA team that they were being laid off from the company.

Following the news, there was reported confusion throughout the office. Full-time workers were unaware of the pending layoffs and didn’t learn about them until the QA workers had already been laid off. Those who were let go from the company were reportedly given 60 days of severance, although that’s less than the length of the contracts that many of them were on. The account from Kotaku’s sources also say that the former QA workers were allowed to collect their personal belongings under security supervision.

EA has yet to release an official statement on the situation. It’s unclear if and how the huge layoffs will impact QA testing for Apex Legends, or if EA will look to cut further jobs in the department at other offices. Either way, it’s just the latest unfortunate round of video game industry layoffs, with companies like Microsoft and Riot Games also cutting jobs earlier this year. At the end of January, EA announced that it would be shutting down Apex Legends Mobile.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_