Unconfirmed: EA Layoffs Incoming Due to Disappointing SWTOR Subscriber Numbers

Both Kotaku and Startup Grind are referencing “multiple sources within Electronic Arts” as reason to believe that the company is about to lay off as many as 1000 employees due to a variety of reasons, including “disappointing” subscriber numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic. If true, hopefully anyone affected at BioWare Austin is able to land on their feet elsewhere:

After a brief resurgence, EA has had a rough year with Star Wars not matching lofty internal expectations, an expensive Popcap acquisition, a CFO departure, and being recently named the worst company in America.

While it looked like a possible banner year, over stretching on several fronts led to a disappointing fiscal year. Estimates put Battlefield 3 sales around 13MM units, the company ‘˜chased’ the launch dumping an estimated $30MM into incremental marketing after the game launched according to one source within EA. The same thing was done for Star Wars to extend its run and try to improve sales. Star Wars sell through is estimated to now be around 3MM units, but the subscriptions which are needed for an MMO to payoff are already declining.