Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
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.