Battlefield 6 devs reportedly hit with layoffs after what EA called "the biggest launch in franchise history" and an estimated 20 million units sold

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Battlefield 6 devs reportedly hit with layoffs after what EA called "the biggest launch in franchise history" and an estimated 20 million units sold News By Dustin Bailey published 9 March 2026

Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive are all reportedly affected

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By all visible metrics, Battlefield 6 had a wildly successful launch far exceeding any previous entry in the venerable FPS series – a fact which EA was keen to brag about last year. But that hasn't saved the devs who worked on it from wide-ranging layoffs, according to a new report.

EA has laid off workers at Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive, according to a new report from IGN. All four offices are part of what EA calls "Battlefield Studios," and collaborated on Battlefield 6. Employees were reportedly told that this was part of a "realignment" effort across the studios, and one not connected to the company's impending $55 billion buyout, though specific numbers and more detailed reasoning for the layoffs have not yet been made public.

Shortly after the game's release in October, EA called Battlefield 6 "the biggest launch in franchise history," with over 7 million units sold in the first three days alone. In December, analysis firm Alinea estimated that the game had sold over 20 million copies, with a total of 26 million players once you figure in the free-to-play Redsec battle royale.

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It was even the best-selling game in the US last year, beating the new Call of Duty release for the first time in the 23 years that the two military FPS franchises had been going head-to-head. But success has never offered much insulation from layoffs in the game industry, especially with pre-release reports suggesting that EA had poured $400 million into Battlefield 6 and expected the game to reach more than 100 million players.

While the game was well-received at launch – Joel called it "deep enough to be tactical and simple enough to be accessible" in our four-star Battlefield 6 review – its post-launch content has struggled to keep players coming back for more. The devs have been taking steps to address specific complaints about things like map size as part of Battlefield 6 Season 2, but the 'mixed' recent review on Steam suggest those changes aren't really breaking through.

Skate dev announces layoffs days after breaking paywall promise and announcing more aggressive monetization, but "our work on skate. continues."

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. TOPICS EA CATEGORIES PS5 Xbox Series X PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation Xbox Dustin BaileySocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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