EA reportedly lays off hundreds of Apex Legends staff
You'd think that the team behind Apex Legends would be perfectly safe. The game has been one of EA's greatest constants in the modern live service landscape.
Apex has maintained a huge player base, with a fast-paced shooter that has proved to a worthy competitor to the meta dominated by Fortnite and Warzone.
Respawn Entertainment's battle royale game is a special title players have latched onto and refuse to let go of. Sadly, EA might see its teams as expendable despite all the money that they've made for them.
EA has reportedly sacked over 200 Apex Legends testers
Click to enlargeAccording to Kotaku, over 200 members of the quality assurance testing team at EA's Baton Rogue have been abruptly laid off.
Three sources have told the site that they were each bundled into an unscheduled surprise Zoom call on Tuesday (February 28) and asked to join the meeting from their personal devices. The team was reportedly disbanded in the call.
The site adds that the testers involved who have lost their jobs are also banned from speaking to the press about it. If true, it's a horrifying drop of the guillotine for these workers, especially as they bring crucial testing work to EA's games, with Apex Legends being their primary focus.
EA says Apex Legends QA will be spread out
Responding to a request to comment from Kotaku with a statement, an EA spokesperson has revealed that the company intends to spread out QA responsibilities for the game across other teams.
"As part of our ongoing global strategy, we are expanding the distribution of our Apex Legends testing team and ending testing execution that’s been concentrated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, impacting services provided by our third-party provider," reads the statement.
"Our global team, inclusive of remote playtesters across the U.S., enables us to increase the hours per week we’re able to test and optimize the game and reflects a commitment to understand and better serve our growing community around the world."
This latest wave of layoffs comes after 10,000 were given the boot over at Microsoft, while mass firings become more commonplace. It's a tragic wave of firings, especially after the incredible success Apex Legends has enjoyed.
