Quality Assurance teams in the gaming industry are facing increasing threats with some developers cutting headcounts in that division. Electronic Arts has let around 40 Apex Legends UK QA teams go after failing to renew their contracts.
Citing sources that refused to be named, Insider Gaming reported that the affected workers were invited into a ‘Business Updated’ Zoom call on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, where they were told their contracts would not be renewed.
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What was even more surprising was that managers and project leads did not know about the development. They got to hear about the news from the affected employees after the call. The UK team was established in 2022 and was responsible for QA testing on Apex Legends from Season 16.
The new development is different from the 670 employees laid off from EA in February. According to sources that participated in the call, EA told them that the reason for axing their roles was not due to poor performance but a “restructuring of the business”. In fact, the undisclosed sources said that the QA team hit all internal targets and goals.
Fearing a similar fate, a team of Activision QA team overwhelmingly voted to form a union last month. The Activision Quality Assurance Union (AQAU) is the largest video game union. At that time, the union claimed that Activision Publishing makes billions from the Call of Duty franchise but that the QA team remained undervalued and under-compensated.
“This union was formed on five key principles that we wish to uphold within our workplaces: Democracy, Diversity, Equity, Solidarity, and Transparency. With our collective voices joined together, we aim to bring a brighter future to both our company and the industry at large,” the union said.
Affected Apex Legends QA team speaks out
Several QA testers working on Apex Legends whose contracts were not renewed have spoken up about their unfortunate condition on different social media platforms. The team worked on Apex Legends Season 16 to 21 before Electronic Arts declined to renew their contracts.
“Sadly, my time at EA and as a game tester on Apex Legends is coming to an end, as I found out the news that my contract will not be renewed along with many of my colleagues,” wrote QA tester Harry Lees. “I am extremely grateful that I was given this opportunity to work on such a big project for my first within the industry and to leave my mark on one of my favorite games.”
It appears most of the affected QA testers working on Apex Legends have taken the news in good faith. Paul Noble-Henty said, “Sadly me and members of the Apex UK QV team have been notified that our contracts are ending with no extensions. We did an amazing job on Apex Legends from season 16 to 21, starting from the bottom and building up into an amazing and effective team.”
“Hello LinkedIn network, due to an unfortunate circumstance, I was part of the Apex Legends QA team that were abruptly laid off today which caught us all by surprise,” said Quinn Burston. Unlike some of the employees whose roles were terminated immediately, Burston said he still had 24 days on his contract.
“Unfortunately as our contracts come to an end my colleagues and I have been informed today that we will no longer have a place on the Apex Legends QA team,” wrote Joseph Smith.
“Sadly, me and my colleagues have received the news today that our contracts will not be extended,” wrote Adam Thompson. “We’ve all had a blast working on Apex Legends, I’ve met some amazing people which I am glad to of made some fantastic memories with.”
Jacob Rowland and Joseph Skinner also mentioned that they have been let go as game testers for Apex Legends. It is unclear why Electronic Arts refused to renew the contracts, the nature of the business restructuring, and what this means to the future of the Apex Legends franchise.
