Narrative Designer of Apex Legends’ Newest Character Laid Off
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- Narrative designer Heather Woodward spent a year working on a trailer for the character’s debut.
- She was laid off one day after the trailer was officially released.
- The layoff was one of hundreds that occurred at EA.
Sparrow’s narrative designer, Heather Woodward, was laid off a day after her character finally came to life in a cinematic trailer. Woodward shared the news on Bluesky, where she celebrated her accomplishment despite having lost her job.
“My first born is finally here. I’ve been working on this sweet ragazzo for well over a year,” she shared the day the trailer launched, oblivious to the uprooting EA would force upon her. The trailer has amassed over half a million views on YouTube.
Upon receiving news of her layoff, Woodward provided an update via social media:
“Well, this is awkward but… I was just mass-downsized at Respawn. These things happen and my time with Apex has been a top to bottom blast, my favorite job I’ve ever had. It’s been a true joy to write Sparrow, I’ll continue to be insufferable about him for weeks to come.”
The layoff was a part of a massive wave of job cuts that affected around 300 workers at EA; an estimated 100 of those were reportedly from Respawn, the subsidiary where Woodward was previously employed.
As for Apex Legends’ Sparrow, the character officially releases on May 6, and his real name is Enea Davide Guarino. EA published the Sparrow’s full list of abilities and passive descriptions on its official website.
