As big and popular as the Marvel brand is, it doesn’t always guarantee success when it comes to running a business. For Cliffhanger Games, the studio working on the Black Panther game for Electronic Arts (EA), a happy ending is not on the cards as the publisher has shut down the studio.
Part of a three-game agreement with Marvel, the game was the second one announced after Iron Man, which Motive Studio is developing. The cancellation will throw doubt into the conversation about where all this is headed, but Motive will lead all future Marvel-related developments as the partnership looks likely to stay intact.
“The multi-title, long-term relationship between Marvel Games and EA, a creative collaboration focused on original storytelling with various, beloved Marvel characters, remains strong. Development of our console and PC titles, beginning with Marvel’s Iron Man, is led by Motive Studios,” said a Marvel spokesperson as reported by IGN.
There weren’t many details about the Black Panther game to begin with, since it was first announced in 2023. It was meant to be a single-player, action-adventure, open-world game helmed by Cliffhanger Games, a team formed in 2023 by ex-developers of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and led by Kevin Stephens.
The bad news comes alongside the latest round of layoffs, with team members of the mobile and central teams affected by the cuts. EA Entertainment president Laura Miele informed the company that the layoffs are meant to “sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.”
The numbers affected are not clear at this moment, although it is believed to be fewer than the last wave of layoffs that were initiated at Respawn Entertainment and other teams.
“These decisions are hard,” Miele continued. “They affect people we’ve worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We’re doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA, where we’ve had success helping people land in new roles.”
For other Marvel-related games, there is still Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, which stars Black Panther and Captain America, as well as Marvel’s Wolverine.
