EA has canceled its Black Panther game and shuttered Cliffhanger Games.
Cliffhanger was only announced in July 2023 after it revealed its first project would be a game based upon Marvel’s Black Panther franchise.
As reported by IGN, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele wrote to staff earlier today, stating the closure comes as EA “sharpens our focus and put[s] our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.”
EA declined to comment on the closure, or confirm how many jobs have been affected, although IGN believes that as well as closing Cliffhanger and canceling Black Panther, staff on its central and mobile teams have also been impacted by redundancies.
“These decisions are hard,” Miele told staff. “They affect people we’ve worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We’re doing everything we can to support them – including finding opportunities within EA, where we’ve had success helping people land in new roles.”
According to IGN, Miele’s correspondence intimates EA is now focusing on a handful of its owned IP, chiefly Apex Legends, Battlefield, Skate, and The Sims, although Miele reportedly assured staff the company was still committed to BioWare’s upcoming Mass Effect game, Motive’s Iron Man title, and its upcoming Star Wars: Jedi project, in addition to its mobile portfolio.
Less than a month ago, EA cut 300 jobs. The redundancies chiefly impacted developers at Apex Legend developer Respawn and EA’s Experiences team.