Key facts
- This is the second round of layoffs at Full Circle within months; the studio previously announced cuts in February 2026 to "better support the game's long-term future.".
- On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Electronic Arts laid off many developers at Full Circle, the Skate studio, as part of widespread cuts that also closed BioWare.
- Bloomberg reported that an internal memo from executives David Tinson and Cam Weber said about 400 people, roughly 3 percent of EA's workforce, were laid off.
- EA paused a Sims project codenamed Project Lotus to shift resources to Project Evergreen, with several reports describing Lotus as canceled outright.
Electronic Arts laid off many developers at Full Circle, the Skate studio, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, as part of widespread cuts that also closed BioWare.
It was the second round of layoffs at Full Circle within months. The studio announced its first reductions in February 2026 to better support Skate’s long-term future, describing the restructuring as a change to team structure intended to focus the team on what matters most to players while affirming that work on Skate continues.
Skate launched in early access in September 2025 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The free-to-play multiplayer passed 15 million players the following month. SteamDB estimated a launch-window peak of 134,901 concurrent players on Steam, but by early 2026 the title stayed below 4,000 concurrent players for the previous month. Video Games Chronicle said the game kept a steady player base but appeared to miss a broader audience because of monetization frustrations and no traditional single-player mode.
TechPowerUp reported that an internal memo from EA executives David Tinson and Cam Weber said EA laid off about 400 people, roughly 3 percent of its workforce, on Oct. 21. The memo followed a months-long hard look at the business. EA said it would share more about its projects over the coming months.
Roughly 50 of those jobs were tied to the canceled next Mass Effect game. EA paused a Sims project codenamed Project Lotus to shift resources to Project Evergreen, with several reports describing Lotus as canceled outright.
Battlefield and Apex Legends continue alongside Motive’s Iron Man game and the next Star Wars Jedi title, while Fight Night is apparently returning. Respawn and DICE are working on a new shooter identified by Variety’s sources as Star Wars Battlefront 3. These projects continue as part of EA’s revised portfolio priorities following the restructuring.
The cuts came months after EA agreed in September 2025 to a $55 billion buyout led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and Silver Lake. EA accepted the acquisition offer from the consortium. TechPowerUp reported the deal left EA with about $20 billion in debt. TechPowerUp reported the layoffs came a few months after EA went private in the buyout.
EA had already cut 200 jobs in April 2025 to drive future growth, alongside 100 layoffs at Respawn Entertainment. The publisher described those cuts as select changes to align teams and allocate resources, and the Respawn reductions coincided with cancellation of a new Titanfall universe project.
Full Circle’s LinkedIn profile listed 200 staff members. Veterans of the original Black Box team behind Skate 1 through 3 built the studio to create a live-service focused reboot of the skating franchise.
Full Circle developers confirmed their layoffs on social media during the October cuts. EA’s email only briefly mentioned the live-service skating game, while individual developers used social media to confirm their layoffs on the day of the announcement. John Epler, the game’s seasonal creative director and an EA veteran of nearly 20 years, said EA eliminated his role as of the cut day.
Well, as of today, my role at Full Circle has been eliminated.
John Epler, Video Games Chronicle
Epler said he was approaching his 19-year anniversary in the industry, all at EA, and felt nervous but eager to try something new.
Adam Martinazzi, a senior game designer at Full Circle, confirmed he was let go on the day of the October cuts, describing himself as sad and frustrated but grateful for the time spent working on Skate with awesome people. Senior designer David Milne said his position had been eliminated and he was moving on to the next thing after enjoying work on the game and the team.
EA said Full Circle would shift to a smaller, more focused team to deliver a clear roadmap and build a healthier, more sustainable business for Skate. BioWare said its focus is now on its incredibly talented team and supporting one another through the transition.
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