EA Has Cancelled Its Black Panther Game And Shuttered The Studio Working On It

Electronic Arts has cancelled the in-development Black Panther title and closed Cliffhanger Games, the studio helming the project.

According to an internal email that was acquired by IGN, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele broke the news, stating that the decision was made in order to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.”

Cliffhanger Games was a newly created studio based in Seattle and led by Kevin Stephens, formerly of Monolith Studios. The reveal of the studio and the Black Panther game came in July 2023 and was part of EA’s multi-title partnership with Marvel. Outside of that original reveal promising a story-driven action-adventure game set within the fictional country of Wakanda, we know precious little about the game and what state it was in before the plug was unceremoniously pulled.

Speaking of the partnership between EA and Marvel, IGN received a statement from the house that Spider-Man built, reassuring onlookers that everything between the companies is still rosy. The multi-title, long-term relationship between Marvel Games and EA, a creative collaboration focused on original storytelling with various, beloved Marvel characters, remains strong. Development of our console and PC titles, beginning with Marvel’s Iron Man, is led by Motive Studios.”

The Iron Man game mentioned in Marvel’s statement was announced in September of 2022 and is being developed by Motive, the team responsible for Star Wars: Squadrons and the Dead Space Remake. While EA seems to be pulling away from licenced games, save for the Star Wars Jedi series, this Iron Man project appears to be safe, at least for the moment.

The layoffs aren’t confined to Cliffhanger either, as IGN confirmed a number of team members from mobile and central teams are also being let go. Don’t worry, though; it’s understood that this round of layoffs is smaller in scope than the 300-400 jobs axed earlier in the month. Following the cancellation of an incubation project, around 100 Respawn Entertainment staff were laid off, joining a few hundred other EA employees who worked in the Experiences Team.

Miele’s email reportedly claims that EA is focusing on a small handful of franchises going forward, those being Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends, as well as the aforementioned Star Wars Jedi IP. The job cuts and bleak mission statement from EA Entertainment’s president paint a picture that’s becoming increasingly clear each day: EA appears to be more concerned with market value and lean profit growth than with creative innovation.

Shoutouts to IGN.