Titanfall Game Reportedly Canceled At Respawn Amid Wider EA Shakeup

In the latest blow to the video game labor community, Electronic Arts has confirmed layoffs at Apex Legends developer Respawn and the cancellation of two "incubation" projects at the studio. About 100 people at Respawn have been affected by the changes, a report said.

A report from Bloomberg said a Titanfall extraction shooter, which was said to be in early development, was one of the canceled incubation projects. The game was codenamed R7, the report said, adding that it was not close to being ready for release.

More widely, EA is making cuts that affect many people, reporter Jeff Grubb of GameSpot sister site Giant Bomb said. Bloomberg said between 300 and 400 people in total are losing their jobs at EA, including the 100 at Respawn. EA Sports FC and Apex Legends underperformed, leading to this latest wave of cuts at EA, GameSpot understands. Dragon Age: The Veilguard might not have performed up to EA's sales expectations, but we understand its performance is not related to the cuts across EA generally.

As for the non-Respawn layoffs, IGN reported that EA's "Experiences" team was affected, along with customer support and marketing roles. Affected staffers were reportedly given a chance to apply for other internal roles prior to parting ways entirely.

"As part of our continued focus on our long-term strategic priorities, we've made select changes within our organization that more effectively aligns teams and allocates resources in service of driving future growth," a spokesperson for EA told Bloomberg.

A skunkworks project from Titanfall veteran Steve Fukuda is not going ahead within Respawn, Grubb added, and "there is no Titanfall 3." That shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as Titanfall 3 was never a sure thing. It appears this could have been the Titanfall extraction game, but it's not clear.

A memo first seen by IGN states that EA made the decision to "step away from two early-stage incubation projects" at Respawn, along with making "targeted team adjustments" across Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi. In addition to the rumored Titanfall extraction shooter, the other canceled incubation project at Respawn was reportedly a multiplayer FPS that we first heard about earlier this year.

Respawn itself confirmed the changes in a memo posted online. In the statement, Respawn said it is a studio that embraces "bold ideas" and "creative risks," but they don't always pan out.

"Our commitment to player-first experiences remains unchanged," Respawn said.

EA said it is offering "meaningful support" to affected staffers.

People affected by the layoffs at Respawn include staffers working in publishing, QA, and members of the Star Wars Jedi and incubation teams, IGN reported.

Respawn will continue to develop more content for Apex Legends and build the next Star Wars: Jedi game, but EA declined to confirm if any incubation projects are currently in the works.

For a long time already, EA management had signaled problems for Apex Legends. CEO Andrew Wilson said the game was "not headed in the direction that we have wanted." The executive also has talked about plans for something called "Apex 2.0."

Respawn said it wants to expand "what Apex can be," with developers continue to refine gameplay and "bring new ideas to upcoming seasons." Respawn added that it wants to "push the boundaries of competitive play while staying true to the spirit of competition, creativity, and integrity that our community expects."

As for the Star Wars: Jedi team, Respawn said the next entry in the series aims to "raise the bar again for storytelling and gameplay."

In February 2024, EA laid off around 670 people, which was about 5% of its global workforce. The new round of cuts across EA are said to be "similar" to that round of layoffs in 2024, Grubb said, though the exact number is unclear. EA is making these reported changes just ahead of its next investor briefing on May 6.

The new changes at Respawn come at a time of uncertainty in general in the economic market for most companies due in part to Trump's scattered tariff policies and other factors. Leading global bank JP Morgan says the risk of a global recession stands at around 60%.