Respawn to focus solely on Apex Legends and Star Wars as it axes two projects

With EA’s slate of new and ongoing games underperforming last year, we’ve already witnessed cuts and reorganizations at stalwart studios like BioWare. Now, Respawn Entertainment is in the firing line. In a statement, the studio has confirmed that two “early-stage incubation projects” have been scrapped and that “adjustments” are being made to the teams working Apex Legends and the next Star Wars Jedi game – and that all means that layoffs are likely on the cards.

“As we sharpen our focus for the future, we’ve made the decision to step away from two early-stage incubation projects and make some targeted team adjustments across Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi,” Respawn’s message reads. “These decisions aren’t easy, and we are deeply grateful to every teammate affected – their creativity and contributions have helped build Respawn into what it is today. We’re offering meaningful support to those impacted, including exploring new opportunities within EA.”

As for the identity of these two incubation projects, one appears to be the unannounced multiplayer FPS game that was reported on earlier this year. Gaming insider Jeff Grubb also claims that the “Steve Fukuda project is in the bin” – this refers to an experimental project that a small team, led by Fukuda, was working on, and leakers claimed earlier this year that it could be the long-requested Titanfall 3.

A later report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier claims that one of the projects – seemingly the one that’s been referred to as ‘Titanfall 3’ by leakers – was “an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe.”

IGN reports that 100 employees will be affected by Respawn’s reshuffle. While there’s a chance some of these employees could find roles elsewhere at other EA studios, it seems extremely likely that a good chunk will be laid off – Schreier claims that across the entire EA business, between 300 and 400 roles are being cut (including the 100 at Respawn) so it sounds like there isn’t exactly a wealth of open vacancies right now.

Discussing the future for Apex Legends, Respawn says that it is looking at “expanding what Apex can be” – this aligns with recent comments from EA’s CEO who told investors earlier this year that it was looking into delivering a major ‘Apex 2.0’ update to the battle royale game.

“While the team will continue to refine gameplay and bring new ideas to upcoming seasons, we’re also investing in what’s next for the franchise – exploring bold experiences that push the boundaries of competitive play while staying true to the spirit of competition, creativity, and integrity that our community expects,” Respawn’s statement reads.

As for its Star Wars endeavors, the studio says that “the next chapter of the Star Wars Jedi series [is] aiming to raise the bar again for storytelling and gameplay.”

Alongside these two main projects, tactics game Star Wars Zero Company was recently revealed, which Respawn assisted on alongside primary developer Bit Reactor.