Electronic Arts

A Federal District (Brasilia) court ruled on June 17, 2026 that Electronic Arts and twelve other gaming and platform companies failed to protect children from randomized 'loot box' purchase mechanics, in a civil action brought by Brazil's National Association of Child and Adolescent Defense Centers (ANCED). EA was fined R$20 million (~$3.92M) over loot-box mechanics in Apex Legends and EA FC, as part of a R$298M (~$58.4M) collective judgment against the named companies. The court ordered EA, within 90 days, to display explicit randomness warnings, disclose item-drop probabilities, deploy reliable (non-self-declared) age verification blocking minors from loot-box purchases, and provide refunds for purchases made by minors without parental authorization. The ruling is subject to appeal.

On March 9, 2026, Electronic Arts laid off an undisclosed number of developers across all four Battlefield studios (Criterion, DICE, Ripple Effect, and Motive). The layoffs came just months after Battlefield 6 set the 'biggest launch in franchise history' with 7 million copies sold in 3 days. This was EA's second round of layoffs in two months, continuing a pattern of cuts despite record revenue.

Electronic Arts told European Commission officials in October 2025 that removing loot boxes would force it to 'completely re-engineer' EA Sports FC, part of an industry lobbying campaign against the EU's planned Digital Fairness Act reported by Follow the Money and EUobserver. Gaming and tech firms accounted for roughly 83% of nearly 100 Commission meetings on the draft law since December 2024, versus under 14% for consumer and child-safety advocates.

Electronic Arts announced the layoff of 670 staff members as part of a focus on owned IP, sports, and massive online communities. EA shut down Ridgeline Games and canceled a Star Wars single player game developed by Respawn Entertainment. The company has laid off nearly 1,900 employees across 2023-2025.