While many layoffs are taking place in the gaming industry right now, EA has announced another 5% cut in its workforce. On top of that, a number of upcoming game projects have been canceled, including Respawn's long-awaited Star Wars first-person shooter.

This means yet another Star Wars game will be added to the pile of already cancelled Star Wars games since Disney took over the franchise in 2012. These games include some that were discontinued prior to the acquisition by Lucasfilm and others that have been announced since then, most of which have been cancelled by EA.

Respawn's Star Wars game was announced for 2022, with the only specific information being that it was a first-person shooter. The cancellation was confirmed by EA Entertainment President Laura Miele (via Venture Beat) following CEO Andrew Wilson's announcement of a new wave of layoffs.

The developers will reportedly be reassigned to other projects, including "Apex Legends," a sequel to "Jedi Survivor," and the upcoming Marvel games "Iron Man" and "Black Panther." It also appears that EA will focus more on its existing brands and content. [This decision] is not a reflection of the team's talent, tenacity or passion for the game." Providing the next installment of an iconic franchise that fans want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus."

It's a bad situation for everyone involved. People will lose their jobs, others will never see their efforts come to fruition, and Star Wars fans will never get to play what Respawn was working on.

Respawn has done great work on "Jedi Fallen Order" and "Survivor" and has experience with first person shooters like "Titanfall" and "Apex Legends". I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to seeing what they can do with the Star Wars license.

It is not clear what other planned games have been canceled. However, EA will be ending support for a number of mobile titles, including F1 Mobile Racing, MLB Tap Sports, and Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth.

Unless otherwise announced, one can assume that Respawn's "Star Wars" strategy game in development is still in progress, as is the third in the "Jedi" series. Similarly, Star Wars games are in the works from other publishers, including Quantic Dream's "Star Wars Eclipse" and Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment's "Star Wars Outlaws" (due out later this year). A remake of Knights of the Old Republic has also been announced, but there is no indication that it will be released anytime soon, unless it is quietly cancelled.

Hopefully the trend of Star Wars games being announced -> cancelled will end soon. The galaxy far, far away needs something better than a pile of broken promises and dreams.