Many large gaming studios are focusing on new shooters with frustration mechanics – But EA is now putting the brakes on and firing 300 employees

While many major game developers are currently focusing on extraction shooters, EA is pulling the brakes on its own project of this kind and laying off numerous employees.

Where does this information come from? This is reported by industry insider Jason Schreier for Bloomberg. According to this, EA is cutting “between 300 and 400 positions” – including about 100 jobs at Respawn Entertainment.

Schreier cites a source who wishes to remain anonymous and is familiar with the company’s plans. Respawn is primarily known today for the “Star Wars Jedi” games and Apex Legends. However, the studio has also previously worked on the very popular shooter Titanfall and its sequel.

Titanfall 2 is currently rated 95% extremely positive on Steam and is considered one of the 25 best shooters of 2025 by us.

Here you can see a trailer for Titanfall 2:

Titanfall 2 shows in the multiplayer trailer how fast the gameplay of the shooter is

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Apparently new Titanfall shooter canceled

What kind of project has been canceled? According to the report, it was supposed to be an extraction shooter that was intended to be more in line with the old Titanfall games. The game would have joined a long list of new shooter projects with extraction mechanics:

A German development studio is currently working on a new extraction shooter with a cyberpunk setting and has brought a well-known director on board.
Bungie’s new shooter Marathon is also supposed to be extraction-based and even warns regular players that it will not be Destiny 3.
Former “The Division” developers are working on Exoborne, the extraction shooter with natural disasters.
Also outside of shooters, we can expect numerous games with extraction mechanics, such as the “Extraction RPG” Pantheon and FromSoftware’s Duskbloods.

Extraction games essentially work as follows: You enter a map with other players, fight for loot, complete tasks, and escape with your bounty. If you die, you usually lose everything again. This can feel exciting and rewarding – but can also be very frustrating. Compared to classic multiplayer shooters, they therefore occupy a clear niche.

Hunt: Showdown 1896, one of the (formerly) most popular extraction shooters, had around 60,000 concurrent players on Steam at its all-time peak (via steamdb.info). For comparison: That’s how many players Call of Duty has daily (via steamdb.info).

What does the developer say? Respawn Entertainment spoke out in a post on X. It mentions “targeted team adjustments.” The focus will now be on Apex Legends and the next chapter of Star Wars Jedi. Projects that are still in very early stages will be left behind.