PopCap Games, the studio behind well-known casual hits like Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled, has laid off some of its employees. "The changes we made today at PopCap were painful and we're sorry to lose some of our friends and colleagues. But it was also necessary in order to stay on course with our future plans for mobile games, live services and new IP," general manager John Vechey said in a statement.

It's not uncommon for layoffs to follow after a game is shipped. However, today's cuts are unrelated to the recently-released Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. An EA spokesperson told Polygon that PopCap HD--the studio responsible for console-style games--was unaffected by today's reductions. In addition, there are "no changes to announce with regard to PopCap titles."

This is but another bump in the road for the company in 2014. Earlier this year, PopCap's CEO and co-founder left the studio.