EA’s Boss Just Got $38 Million In Payments As 400 Employees Were Laid Off

Published Jul 29, 2026, 7:34 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. From the outside, the last couple of years have looked a little rough for EA. Skate. has underperformed, Battlefield 6 was slated over and over again, some of its biggest games were reviewed poorly, and dozens of employees were laid off. Up to 400 in 2025, as a matter of fact. Clearly, however, public perspective is only one thing, and apparently, the company is doing really well. Well enough that its CEO, Andrew Wilson, was awarded $38.6 million in 2025, an $8 million increase on the previous year. EA CEO Andrew Wilson Netted $38.6 Million In Salary, Bonus, And Stock Options In 2025 As reported by Game Developer, via a 10-K report filed by EA, CEO Andrew Wilson earned $38.6 million last year. The CEO earned a meager salary of $1.3 million but received more than $28 million in stock awards and a $6.5 million bonus for good measure. The report notes, "Battlefield—achieved meeting all milestones for a high-quality launch of Battlefield 6 with positive critical reviews and stable services and gameplay, with interim milestones related to future launches being met," reads the document. "EA Sports FC—achieved meeting specified retention goal, meeting audience growth targets for FC Mobile in specified geography, and meeting key product execution milestones. [...] Skate—achieved delivering early access across multiple platforms and surpassing player goal." Wilson was also praised for meeting certain "transformation" goals, which included entering strategic AI partnerships, launching a gen-AI investment framework, and improving efficiency by "establishing AI adoption targets and driving meaningful usage in priority areas." However, while Wilson rakes in the cash, 100s of former EA employees aren't so lucky. Between 300 and 400 of them lost their jobs following a round of layoffs at Respawn Entertainment, and more lost their jobs at Full Circle due to Skate's underperformance, with EA's live-service take on its once-popular skating sim struggling. This is all set to the backdrop of EA's pending acquisition by a Saudi-led investment fund. Wilson said of the buyout that its "company values will not change," which I'm sure is music to his ears, as he's likely to continue raking in the cash after the sale is complete, despite fierce opposition from US congressmen. Date Founded May 27, 1982 CEO Andrew Wilson Subsidiaries EA Sports, Respawn Entertainment, BioWare, EA Vancouver, DICE, Codemasters, EA Mobile Headquarters Redwood City, California, United States Known For FIFA, EA Sports UFC, Battlefield, Dragon Age, The Sims