EA has laid off a substantial number of employees at its Australian mobile studio FireMonkeys. 

As reported by Kotaku (via Game Workers Unite Australia), between 40 to 50 staffers have been laid off, and remaining workers are apparently operating under the belief that the entire studio will soon be closed down. 

For those unfamiliar with the name, FireMonkeys was formed in 2012 after EA merged IronMonkey Studios with Firemint to create one of the biggest development studios in Australia. 

The company has churned out mobile titles including Real Racing 3, The Sims FreePlay, and Need for Speed: No Limits. It was hard at work developing Real Racing 4, but reports suggest the project has now been canceled. 

While EA has yet to officially confirm the news, it did tell Kotaku that FireMonkeys has recently "entered into a consultation period that may impact some roles."

"We recently made a decision to shift teams to focus more on our live services, and have entered into a consultation period that may impact some roles in the studio," reads the statement.

"We're working to match skills with opportunities as we go through this period, identifying other opportunities at EA, and providing as much help to our employees as we possibly can."

EA also refused to comment on the future of Real Racing 4, instead explaining that FireMonkeys would continue to deliver new content for Real Racing 3 and other mobile titles.