EA’s layoff streak continues. This time, the target of EA’s annihilation gun was a studio that was meant to bring us a new Black Panther game. The project itself got canceled as well.
What We Know
According to the most recent game news, EA decided to shut down Cliffhanger Games – a studio responsible for the development of a Black Panther game, making it another blow for the AAA industry.
The game was announced back in 2023 and managed to gather some hype around it, as people who were meant to work on the project were also the ones who worked on franchises such as God of War, Halo, and Call of Duty, which got players excited. Even though it wasn’t officially stated, based on EA’s job listing descriptions it was deduced to be a single-player, action-adventure, open-world game.
However, as months passed, the hype was slowly fading out; the game remained a huge mystery and the info about it was scarce. There was no trailer to show and no gameplay details. The only piece of info players got last year was that the game is still very early in its development.
Reportedly, the information about shutting down the studio and the Black Panther cancellation came as a complete surprise to the Cliffhanger Games workers.
It’s unknown exactly how many people are directly affected by this round of layoffs but it’s speculated to be below 300. Some workers may be eligible to be redirected to other EA divisions to provide support on other currently running projects and find new career opportunities.
Studio History
Cliffhanger Games was a Seattle-based studio founded in 2001 by Kevin Stephens who was leading Monolith Productions during the development of Middle-earth games, precisely Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.
The studio wasn’t particularly known or popular; it didn’t have any achievements, other than having people who were partly responsible for the success of Middle-earth games on board. It was a new studio, seemingly opened solely to work on Black Panther, as part of the deal made with Marvel. Developing and delivering Black Panther was the studio’s main and only focus, so once the project got dumped, there was no reason to keep Cliffhanger Games around.
Why It Was Canceled
When it comes to the exact reasons for the project and studio closure, they remain undisclosed, so one can only speculate that it was either about money and IP rights or the lack of results and development news. After all, Black Panther was in the pre-production phase for four years, and that should be more than enough to have all the groundwork figured out.
EA promises that other projects won’t be affected and that its partnership with Marvel is as strong as ever and will continue, which means we should still be getting at least two more games from the popular superhero universe, according to the three-game deal made between the companies back in 2023. In fact, both companies confirmed that there will still be three Marvel games to come, it’s just that Black Panther won’t be one of them anymore.
It’s not to say that we won’t see any more hurdles, though. According to the latest updates, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will be delayed to 2026, which left players deeply disappointed. Considering the increasing number of controversies in the AAA gaming industry in the last few years and the overall state of the market, it would be wise to remain cautiously optimistic about whatever EA is cooking right now.
For now, EA wants to focus on a handful of its top IPs, including Battlefield, Apex Legends, and The Sims, so there’s a chance we’ll hear some news about them relatively soon.
Industry Reactions
Recent layoffs and cancellations, including this one, paint a gloomy picture of the triple-A industry, which seems to be more unstable than ever. Companies have goals that are way too ambitious, so when they’re confronted with financial reality, everything falls apart, affecting the livelihoods of dozens or hundreds of people who worked on the project, not to mention thousands of fans who were left disappointed.