Apex Legends writer who made new Legend laid off day after the character was revealed

The Apex Legends writer who created the newest Legend, Sparrow, has been laid off only a day after their own character was revealed to the public.

On April 30, Electronic Arts implemented a wave of layoffs affecting 300 to 400 employees across their studios, with approximately 100 positions eliminated at Respawn Entertainment, the team behind Apex.

The day before, Apex had officially revealed their new character Sparrow, written by Heather Woodward, in their Season 25 launch trailer. “My firstborn is finally here. I’ve been working on this sweet ragazzo for well over a year,” the writer posted on Blue Sky.

One day later, Woodward was impacted by the layoffs. “Well, this is awkward but… I was just mass-downsized at Respawn,” she said. “These things happen, and my time with Apex has been a top-to-bottom blast, my favorite job I’ve ever had.

“It’s been a true joy to write Sparrow, I’ll continue to be insufferable about him for weeks to come.”

Rubbing salt into the wound, Woodward was sent a promotional email for her own character the following day.

“I mean it’s objectively pretty funny to get a promo email for the character I wrote the day I’m let go,” she posted.

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Despite Apex Legends’ significant contribution to EA’s revenue, surpassing $2 billion since its launch in 2019, the development team has not been immune to cuts.

Season 25 will release on May 6, and hopes to inject life into Apex again, as the player count has been falling over the past year.

The layoffs coincide with the cancellation of two early-stage projects at Respawn, including a game set in the Titanfall universe, codenamed R7. It likely spells the end of any hopes for a third Titanfall game, and the shape of Apex Legends’ future is also less clear than ever.