10% of Dice’s workforce has quit: report

Nearly 40 employees have left DICE this year, Swedish tech site Di Digital has confirmed. This corresponds to 10% of the Battlefield developer’s workforce of 400 people.

Sources told Di that the reason for the exodus was due to the failure of Star Wars: Battlefront II last year, as well as increased competition from other games. Some of the people who left had been with the company for a decade.

Epic Games and Ubisoft both recently opened offices in Stockholm, along with other smaller players who are looking to tap into talent in the Nordic nation’s games industry. 

However, one source specifically blamed Battlefront II for the loss of staff. 
“It became a debacle. For many, it was difficult to quickly redo the game,” they told Di. 

DICE has been hit with two major controversies in the past year. Battlefront II was accused of predatory tactics and gambling surrounding its loot boxes. Battlefield V later came under criticism for historical inaccuracies and pandering to left wing political activists. EA executive and former DICE CEO Patrick Söderlund left the company when pre-orders tanked shortly after he told critics not to buy the game

The studio continues to remain profitable for EA, though growth has slowed 3% from last year. Battlefield V faces stiff competition this Christmas season from Activision’s rival Call of Duty, and its success or failure could mean a make or break moment for the company. 

EA has not released a statement on the departures, however DICE continues to attribute them to stiffer competition for labour. Even so, employees that are happy and confident in a company’s future don’t tend to leave en mass like this. This could point to additional organizational troubles within the Swedish studio.