Electronic Arts parted was with 350 of its 9,000 employees on Wednesday, according to a statement released by CEO Andrew Wilson. The head of the California-based game development studio stated that these firings were a part of “deliberate moves to better deliver on our commitments, refine our organization and meet the needs of players.”

EA’s decision to downsize primarily affected their marketing and publishing departments, their operations teams, and their business locations in Russia and Japan. The move to close their Russian offices is in line with previous decisions made by the company to end sales in Russia and Belarus in response to the conflict unfolding in Ukraine. Although Wilson did not clarify the reasoning behind the mass layoffs, he vowed that EA was “doing everything we can to ensure we are looking after our people to help them through this period to find their next opportunity.”

“This is a difficult day. These are important but very hard decisions, and we do not take them lightly.”

The development studio’s sudden choice to restructure arrives at an unusual time, as the final quarterly results for their 2022 fiscal year on May 10 reported their net revenue to be 6.9 billion, a nearly 20 percent increase over the previous year’s 5.6 billion. EA predicted to increase that amount to at least 7.6 billion during their next fiscal year, and Wilson stated that “With amazing games, built around powerful IP, made by incredibly talented teams, and outstanding engagement in our live services, FY23 is set to be a year of innovation and growth for Electronic Arts.”

In his message regarding what he calls EA’s “challenges,” Wilson also claimed that EA would be placing greater emphasis on the quality of their games and live services.

“Great games will continue to be at the core of everything we do, and we are thinking differently about how to amaze and inspire our players.”