Electronic Arts has canceled its in-development Black Panther game and shut down Cliffhanger Games, marking its third round of layoffs this year. The decision aligns with the company’s strategy to focus on core franchises and cut underperforming projects. In an email sent to staff from EA Entertainment president Laura Miele, Miele said that these changes, alongside other recent cancellations and layoffs, are being done to ‘sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.’ In addition to closing Cliff, EA is also laying off some individuals on both its mobile and central teams. EA is endeavoring to place affected individuals in other roles across the company. Miele’s email continues, the company is focusing on a small handful of franchises going forward: Battlefield, The Sims, Skate, and Apex Legends. Miele also reassures EA will continue to invest in its Iron Man game at Motive and the third Star Wars: Jedi game, as well as maintain its mobile business despite today’s cuts, while Bioware works on the next Mass Effect. Last year, CEO Andrew Wilson announced the company would be ‘moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.’ The email doesn’t mention EA Sports, but this is due to Miele running EA Entertainment, while EA Sports is a separate division. IGN understands that the sports division is unaffected by these changes for now.