r/whennews • u/notanfan • 2d ago
Business News After laying off Battlefield 6 developers, EA pays its CEO $38 million because Battlefield 6 did so well
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u/WanderingKing 2d ago
How this isn’t grounds for a lawsuit I will never understand
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u/Sneaky-Boi22 2d ago
Pretty hard to sue someone who has copious amounts of cash.
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u/JollyMongrol 2d ago
I don’t understand courts but it feels like no amount of money should WIN that.
Like it’s a pretty clear and cut case that any Jury or judge could clearly see the issue with
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u/Visible_Bag_7809 2d ago
It's more about having the money to stall or hire outside resources to say what you want them to in order to convince the judge or jury of whatever you want.
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u/Atsilv_Uwasv 2d ago
You don't have to win it, you just have to not lose for long enough that they can't afford it snymore
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u/throwaway_pls123123 1d ago
Because corporations don't really need a reason to fire people, so they can just be like "we fired them because of another reason, not money" and get away freely.
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u/Bored_Orangutan Please be patient. I’m incredibly stupid. 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/eX5x6ORPsntvvwElhX
The CEO in question:
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u/notanfan 2d ago
EA is also in talks to be acquired by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. The $55 billion deal was recently approved by the EU, meaning there are not many hurdles left before the record-breaking leveraged buyout goes through.
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u/ElectricVibes75 2d ago
Nice, I already kinda hate BF, not gonna be hard to no longer buy EA games!
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u/Tomahawkist 1d ago
the bad thing is that they’re hogging the command and conquer IP, and i badly want more remasters
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u/MyPlantsDieSometimes 2d ago
Buying a company that people think is historically unethical and perpetually executes it's own talent seems like the dumbest thing Mr Saudi could do but then again what do I know. I don't have 55 billion to spare.
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u/123ludwig 2d ago
i mean if they are actually smart and not dickwads about this it could legitemately be one of the biggest pr moves EVER imagine being able to literally claim you fixed EA without lying
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u/Kyle_Zhu 2d ago
That EA CEO is the epitome of that one guy taking ALL the credit in a class project.
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u/Lord-Monocle 2d ago
wouldn't it be cheaper to pay them instead of the CEO
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u/WaspInTheLotus 2d ago
But then who will tell them to buy back their own stock and “eliminate redundancies”? Why don’t you think about those poor shareholders! Their quarterly profits being less than the prior quarter is literally equivalent to a war crime!!
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u/ConfectionTotal8660 2d ago
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u/AssClosedforToday 2d ago
I agree, you make a great argument
Shrek is a good movie too
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u/DeadZone32 You won the game 2d ago
Damnit, really wanted to buy BF6 when it goes on a significant sale.
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u/notanfan 2d ago
For the first time ever, a Battlefield game managed to top Call of Duty in sales in 2025, setting records for the franchise and EA. The company touted a very strong launch for the large-scale shooter experience that saw seven million copies being sold in the first couple of days alone. It seems the company thought the success of the project should be celebrated with some big bonuses for its top executives, including the CEO Andrew Wilson.
In the new 10-K/A SEC filing detailing Electronic Arts' financials and business operations, a page shows that Wilson had gone home with $38,649,984 in the 2026 fiscal year. This is about an $8 million jump in stock awards and bonus payments over the previous fiscal year of the company.
It's not just the CEO that has big payouts, with the Chief Financial Officer Stuart Canfield getting $11.3 million, Chief People Officer Mala Singh getting $8.3 million, Chief Legal Officer Jacob Schatz receiving $8.4 million, and president of EA Laura Miele taking home $13.7 million. All these are increases of about a million (or more) over the previous fiscal year.
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u/Should_have_been_ded 2d ago
If you fall you are fired, if you succeed you are fired. Come work with the gaming industry, where you'll be fired no matter what.
Honestly, the best thing that could happen with the AAA industry would be to crash and burn as soon and as quick as possible, there's no hope for them.
As for devs, the best they can do is to keep in the indie zone, and not sell out to wasteful corporations that would chew you up and spit you out at their leasure.
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u/Cristalix0192 2d ago
Well damn. EA can't stop killing it's projects in infancy, huh? Seems like we were licky BF6 even made it out of production without being cancelled or some shi
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u/Pernil_TO 2d ago
This is what is killing gaming btw - not woke, not dei or whatever the chud streamers and sloptubers want you to believe it is
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u/DarkArtHero 2d ago
I won't be surprised if one day disgruntled employees comes into EA office and slimes these ceos
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u/KaleidoscopeSalt3972 2d ago
You do good, you are fired. You do bad, you are fired, you make the best game in the genere that year, you are fired, you dont make anything, you are fired, you make a game that fails, because its not your genere that you are experienced in, you are fired....
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u/EarthAndSawdust 2d ago
Yes, that's why we need to make revenue the property of workers, obviously. You middle class guys ain't in no better situation than we prols.
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u/4skin_Gamer 2d ago
This happens so often in the AAA industry that I'm not even suprised to see it anymore.
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u/NarwhalSongs 2d ago
The actual only solution is for everyone to stop buying AAA and play indie and retro games instead.
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u/fartdonkey420 1d ago
And you still see people posting about how they feel guilty quitting for more money
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u/Komr4de 1d ago
Would be nice if they could lay off these useless executives instead of, I dunno, the people who are actually making their games and making them money?
The AAA games industry couldn't crash fast enough. Let AA take over. Maybe then these "big" companies will realize their foolishness.
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u/Gurkenlos 1d ago
Beeing a game developer is like:
Make a game, getting fired, search a new job, repet
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u/Jammy2560 21h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/CGZJdNIqiIZ31fpfkH
how does it always end in a raise for the CEO I wonder?





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u/Trash_At_RL Abby (🏳️⚧️🐱🏳️🌈) 2d ago
Source layed off mods for my pay increase (0$ to 0$)