EA closes BioWare and cancels early Mass Effect project

Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare announced the closure on social media on Wednesday, October 21, saying that “early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending.” EA is also closing the studio’s office in Edmonton, Alberta, according to Engadget.

The announcement came minutes after a Bloomberg report on a wider round of cuts. Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the plans, said about 400 EA jobs are affected, roughly 50 of them at BioWare. Nintendo Life relays Bloomberg’s claim that the cuts are part of a plan to save up to $700 million. Variety, as cited by Engadget, says the layoffs amount to about three percent of EA’s workforce. EA told staff it will help affected employees explore other opportunities within the company.

In a message to employees quoted by Bloomberg, EA executives said the company is making “deliberate choices” to put talent and money where it sees the biggest opportunities. A memo from EA co-presidents Cam Weber and David Tinson called BioWare “a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre” and said the decision was not taken lightly.

Other changes at EA

BioWare is not the only team affected. Full Circle, the developer of Skate, will be made smaller. The memo says the game, in early access since September last year, has drawn “a lot of success” with players, but EA wants a more focused team working to a clear roadmap. At Maxis, the maker of The Sims, development of “Project Lotus” is paused so resources can go to a separate effort called Project Evergreen.

EA also outlined plans elsewhere. Respawn and Dice are working together on a new shooter, which Variety’s sources say is Star Wars: Battlefront 3. In action-adventure, EA said it will run fewer large projects at once once Marvel’s Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game are finished. EA Sports is bringing back Fight Night, and its American football team is building a “brand-new, social-first open-world experience.” More details are due in the next few months.

Why it matters

BioWare was founded in Edmonton in 1995 and is known for Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Its last release was Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024. Engadget reports that it and Anthem, which shut down earlier this year, both fell short of sales expectations, and Nintendo Life says Veilguard did not meet EA’s targets. The sources disagree on when EA bought the studio: Ars Technica and Engadget say 2007, Nintendo Life says 2008.

The closure follows EA’s move into private ownership last year. Ars Technica says a roughly $55 billion takeover led by Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners ended EA’s public listing. Engadget says the new owners left the company with $20 billion of debt. Analysts quoted by Ars at the time expected layoffs, studio closures and IP sales, along with more emphasis on live services, annual sports franchises and microtransactions.

What we don’t know yet

EA has not said what happens to the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, or how the roughly 50 BioWare positions reported by Bloomberg will be handled. The $700 million savings figure comes from Bloomberg’s reporting as relayed by Nintendo Life and has not been confirmed by EA in the material available.