Apex Legends QA testers reportedly fired over Zoom call
EA fired 200 QA testers for Apex Legends at its office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 28, 2023, with immediate effect, Kotaku reports. The employees were informed of this during a Zoom call with their contracting agency.
In effect, this move disbands the entire QA team at the office, which took even local supervisors by surprise. The former QA testers will receive 60 days of severance pay.
The Baton Rouge office has assisted with QA testing Apex Legends since 2019, helping to get the popular battle royale game ready for its spectacular debut. Testers there were able to build up a lot of training and expertise on the game in the years since then, which might well be felt by players in future versions of the game.
EA stated towards Kotaku, that this move is “part of our ongoing global strategy” as it's looking to end the concentration of QA testing for Apex Legends in Baton Rouge in favor of having a team that’s more widely distributed.
“Our global team, inclusive of remote playtesters across the U.S., enables us to increase the hours per week we’re able to test and optimize the game and reflects a commitment to understand and better serve our growing community around the world,” the statement continued.
There have been a few other cost-cutting measures by EA recently such as the cancellation of Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile.
Apex Legends recently launched Season 16: Revelry, which made some fundamental changes to the title’s gameplay.
