Star Wars, Battlefield Hardline Dev Hit With "Small" Number of Layoffs

Visceral Games has been hit with layoffs that parent company Electronic Arts describes as "a small staffing change."

Asked about the layoffs, which were first reported by Game Informer, an EA spokesperson told GameSpot, "We made a small staffing change in our Visceral studio today to support the needs of the studio's two current development priorities: content for Battlefield Hardline Premium and an unannounced Star Wars project. We are working to ensure the smoothest transition possible for the impacted employees."

Visceral is the developer behind the Dead Space series, as well as the recently released Battlefield Hardline and an in-development Star Wars game.

The latter project is being worked on by former Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig, as well Todd Stashwick, an Uncharted 4 actor who has since been replaced by Naughty Dog. EA confirmed to GameSpot that both individuals remain with Visceral, as does Scott Probst, who took over as general manager following the departure of former GM Steve Papoutsis last month.

EA last week described itself as being "very happy" with sales of Hardline, though it declined to offer any specifics. Producer Zach Mumbach did, however, acknowledge on a recent podcast that player counts have "tailed off" on PC since launch. He also shared some details about Hardline's first DLC pack.

As for the Star Wars game, EA has yet to reveal any official details, and as the statement above demonstrates, it continues to refer to it only as "an unannounced Star Wars project." It's rumored to be an open-world game, but with DICE's Star Wars: Battlefront on tap for later this year, it's unlikely we'll be hearing about it anytime soon.