Record Launch. Real Cuts.
What Happened to Battlefield’s Studios?
Battlefield 6 sold 7 million copies in its first three days. It outsold Call of Duty for the first time in 23 years. Then EA laid off staff across all four studios that built it.
Electronic Arts confirmed on March 9, 2026, that an undisclosed number of employees have been let go across all four of its Battlefield Studios — DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect, and Motive. EA described the move internally as a “realignment” to better focus on what matters to the community, as live-service support for Battlefield 6 continues. All four studios remain open. The total number of people affected has not been disclosed. The cuts come six months after Battlefield 6’s October 2025 launch, which EA called the biggest in the franchise’s history — and which made Battlefield 6 the best-selling game of 2025 in the United States, dethroning Call of Duty after a 23-year run at the top of the charts.
Battlefield 6 in Figures
Tap Any Studio to Learn More
All four studios that make up EA’s Battlefield Studios group have been hit. Each played a distinct role in building Battlefield 6 and its ongoing live-service content. Tap a studio to see what they contributed.
We’ve made select changes within our Battlefield organization to better align our teams around what matters most to our community. Battlefield remains one of our biggest priorities, and we’re continuing to invest in the franchise, guided by player feedback and insights from Battlefield Labs.
— EA Spokesperson, Official Statement (March 9, 2026)From 747K to Tens of Thousands
Battlefield 6 peaked at 747,440 concurrent players on Steam at launch in October 2025 — a new franchise record on PC. By March 2026, that figure had dropped to between 60,000–70,000 on peak days. Steam numbers only reflect the PC player base; the game is also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Meanwhile, Steam user reviews have shifted from “Mostly Positive” at launch to “Mixed” overall, with players citing heavy monetization, use of generative AI for in-game cosmetics, and a lack of large-scale maps. The free-to-play battle royale mode, Redsec, holds a “Mostly Negative” recent review rating on Steam.
Season 2 was delayed — the Battlefield 6 team pushed back its start date to allow more time to address community feedback. EA published a three-month content roadmap for expected updates. A new map is scheduled for March 17, with an additional limited-time mode update on April 14. DICE has confirmed it cannot produce more than two new maps per season due to resource constraints.
Battlefield 6: Six Months That Changed Everything
From a record launch to a “Mixed” rating and studio layoffs — here’s the full sequence of events from October 2025 to March 2026.
The $55 Billion Deal Running in the Background
EA is in the final stages of being acquired by a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. The deal — valued at approximately $55 billion — was announced in September 2025, approved by shareholders in December 2025, and is expected to close by June 2026 (Q1 of EA’s fiscal year 2027). EA has stated internally that the Battlefield layoffs are not connected to the acquisition. Upon completion, EA will remain headquartered in Redwood City, California, and continue under CEO Andrew Wilson.
Development of Battlefield 6 reportedly cost EA over $400 million — one of the most expensive games ever made. Internal targets, reported by Ars Technica, reportedly asked for 100 million players — well above the approximately 30 million reached by Battlefield 1 (2016), which had been the franchise’s most successful entry. EA’s Q3 FY26 earnings reported net revenue of over $1.9 billion for the quarter in which Battlefield 6 led.
EA Is Not the Only One Cutting
The Battlefield layoffs are part of a wider pattern across the games industry in 2025 and 2026. Ubisoft announced plans to cut up to 200 jobs at its Paris office in 2026. Microsoft announced thousands of job cuts — including within its Gaming division — in July 2025. EA’s own Full Circle studio (developer of the upcoming skate. reboot) went through a separate round of restructuring in February 2026. In 2025, EA also shut down Cliffhanger Games, cancelled its in-development Black Panther game, and laid off 100 employees at Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment. In 2024, EA cut over 650 jobs company-wide.
Live-service games with strong launches but declining player retention have become a recurring pressure point across the industry. Pricing and monetization decisions have drawn particular scrutiny, and Battlefield 6’s post-launch period has been one of the more discussed examples in that conversation. For game studios with similarly high-stakes releases in 2026 — from Resident Evil: Requiem to Assassin’s Creed’s 2026 roadmap — the post-launch period remains a critical window.
EA confirmed on March 9, 2026, that an undisclosed number of employees have been laid off across its four Battlefield Studios — DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect, and Motive — as part of what the company described as a “realignment.” Battlefield 6 launched on October 10, 2025, sold over 7 million copies in its first three days, and became the best-selling game of 2025 in the United States. The game’s post-launch period has been covered in the context of declining Steam player counts, community concerns around monetization and content updates, and a Season 2 delay. The layoffs were reported alongside EA’s pending $55 billion acquisition and the December 2025 death of Battlefield franchise head Vince Zampella. Live-service support for Battlefield 6 is described as ongoing. A new map is planned for March 17, with a further content update scheduled for April 14. More from The Game Tribune: Pokémon Pokopia on Nintendo Switch 2.