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EA is closing BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, after more than 30 years — early development of the next Mass Effect game killed EA says it is focusing on Battlefield, Iron Man and a Fight Night revival instead. Electronic Arts (EA) is closing BioWare and its Edmonton studio, according to a recent letter to employees, which confirms that early development on the next Mass Effect game has also been canceled. The studio was behind Mass Effect and other popular franchises such as Dragon Age, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur’s Gate during its 31-year history. EA is focusing on Battlefield, Iron Man, and a Fight Night revival instead. BioWare, a “legendary studio,” in EA’s words, had a small team working on early development of the next Mass Effect game, but the company “made the decision not to move forward with this development.” BioWare was acquired by EA in 2008, and EA itself went private in August. The next game in the series was first announced in November 2020 and teased that December with an official trailer on EA’s Mass Effect YouTube channel. In 2021, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition remaster of the original trilogy was released. Since then, the studio has been relatively quiet except for Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024. EA spared only a few lines for BioWare, instead focusing on three priorities: Deepen Our Core, Expand Our Reach, and Transform Our Business. Battlefield 6 is touted as “a great success” as the company is focusing on Apex Legends modes, Marvel’s Iron Man, and the next Star Wars Jedi game. “Project Gridiron” falls under the EA Sports heading as a social-first, open-world experience from EA’s American football team, with a Fight Night revival currently in pre-production. The company hasn’t forgotten about The Sims, either, and intends to “prioritize [its] efforts on ‘Project Evergreen.’” Those impacted will be supported “in exploring other opportunities within EA.” EA did not give a job count, and neither the Mass Effect nor the Dragon Age series was declared dead. BioWare’s released games were also not mentioned. Veilguard, as EA described it early last year, engaged only about “1.5 million players during the quarter,” which was “down nearly 50% from the company’s expectations.” That reception may have played a partial role in the decision, though EA did not say so. Around the same time, BioWare general manager Gary McKay said that only “a core team” was working on the next Mass Effect game and didn’t “require support from the full studio,” as colleagues were matched “with other teams at EA.” The move is not entirely unexpected, with job cuts being common in the industry, for example, with Microsoft announcing 3,200 Xbox job cuts in July, citing low margins. EA did not reveal any dates for major titles, but it plans to discuss its direction and the work ahead with staff at its Global Town Hall in November. For now, it looks like EA is doubling down on its core franchises and dropping the studio to refocus on what’s been working. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Shane Downing is a Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering consumer storage, PC hardware, and AI. - erazog rgd1101 said:their games just isn't as good after EA bought themWell what happened was most of the staff that made Bioware good left, just people moving on in life, what remained was called Bioware but not in soul with the studio being re-staffed it just never made games anywhere near as good. Its surprising EA let it go on as long as they did without any major hits. Reply - ezst036 EA killed Westwood too. That's really the one that gets me. BioWare is very sad but its expected at this point.Reply - bigdragon Bioware can pick their gravesite in the EA graveyard. There are spots next to Westwood, Origin Systems, Bullfrog, and Maxis available. We really need to get enthusiasts in charge of industries. So many perfectly viable companies are getting wrecked by MBAs that are treating these institutions like trading cards instead of Legos. Reply - ezst036 bigdragon said:Bioware can pick their gravesite in the EA graveyard. There are spots next to Westwood, Origin Systems, Bullfrog, and Maxis available. We really need to get enthusiasts in charge of industries. So many perfectly viable companies are getting wrecked by MBAs that are treating these institutions like trading cards instead of Legos.Be willing to take pay cuts. If you and the crew will do it for less, do it for the love, it'll endure. Human greed is powerful though, even most enthusiasts will balk at this reality and will prefer the higher pay over the nostalgia. Getting enthusiasts in charge of these industries is a non-starter. You might get one or two people but you aren't going to get a team. Reply - alan.campbell99 bigdragon said:Bioware can pick their gravesite in the EA graveyard. There are spots next to Westwood, Origin Systems, Bullfrog, and Maxis available. We really need to get enthusiasts in charge of industries. So many perfectly viable companies are getting wrecked by MBAs that are treating these institutions like trading cards instead of Legos.Ahh, I remember Bullfrog from my Amiga days, Syndicate for one. Reply - blppt Its not even remotely the Bioware that made those legendary games. IIRC, they didn't have a single designer left employed from that era.Reply
EA is closing BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, after more than 30 years — early development of the next Mass Effect game killed EA says it is focusing on Battlefield, Iron Man and a Fight Night revival instead. Electronic Arts (EA) is closing BioWare and its Edmonton studio, according to a recent letter to employees, which confirms that early development on the next Mass Effect game has also been canceled. The studio was behind Mass Effect and other popular franchises such as Dragon Age, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur’s Gate during its 31-year history. EA is focusing on Battlefield, Iron Man, and a Fight Night revival instead. BioWare, a “legendary studio,” in EA’s words, had a small team working on early development of the next Mass Effect game, but the company “made the decision not to move forward with this development.” BioWare was acquired by EA in 2008, and EA itself went private in August. The next game in the series was first announced in November 2020 and teased that December with an official trailer on EA’s Mass Effect YouTube channel. In 2021, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition remaster of the original trilogy was released. Since then, the studio has been relatively quiet except for Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024. EA spared only a few lines for BioWare, instead focusing on three priorities: Deepen Our Core, Expand Our Reach, and Transform Our Business. Battlefield 6 is touted as “a great success” as the company is focusing on Apex Legends modes, Marvel’s Iron Man, and the next Star Wars Jedi game. “Project Gridiron” falls under the EA Sports heading as a social-first, open-world experience from EA’s American football team, with a Fight Night revival currently in pre-production. The company hasn’t forgotten about The Sims, either, and intends to “prioritize [its] efforts on ‘Project Evergreen.’” Those impacted will be supported “in exploring other opportunities within EA.” EA did not give a job count, and neither the Mass Effect nor the Dragon Age series was declared dead. BioWare’s released games were also not mentioned. Veilguard, as EA described it early last year, engaged only about “1.5 million players during the quarter,” which was “down nearly 50% from the company’s expectations.” That reception may have played a partial role in the decision, though EA did not say so. Around the same time, BioWare general manager Gary McKay said that only “a core team” was working on the next Mass Effect game and didn’t “require support from the full studio,” as colleagues were matched “with other teams at EA.” The move is not entirely unexpected, with job cuts being common in the industry, for example, with Microsoft announcing 3,200 Xbox job cuts in July, citing low margins. EA did not reveal any dates for major titles, but it plans to discuss its direction and the work ahead with staff at its Global Town Hall in November. For now, it looks like EA is doubling down on its core franchises and dropping the studio to refocus on what’s been working. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Shane Downing is a Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering consumer storage, PC hardware, and AI. - erazog rgd1101 said:their games just isn't as good after EA bought themWell what happened was most of the staff that made Bioware good left, just people moving on in life, what remained was called Bioware but not in soul with the studio being re-staffed it just never made games anywhere near as good. Its surprising EA let it go on as long as they did without any major hits. Reply - ezst036 EA killed Westwood too. That's really the one that gets me. BioWare is very sad but its expected at this point.Reply - bigdragon Bioware can pick their gravesite in the EA graveyard. There are spots next to Westwood, Origin Systems, Bullfrog, and Maxis available. We really need to get enthusiasts in charge of industries. So many perfectly viable companies are getting wrecked by MBAs that are treating these institutions like trading cards instead of Legos. Reply - ezst036 bigdragon said:Bioware can pick their gravesite in the EA graveyard. There are spots next to Westwood, Origin Systems, Bullfrog, and Maxis available. We really need to get enthusiasts in charge of industries. So many perfectly viable companies are getting wrecked by MBAs that are treating these institutions like trading cards instead of Legos.Be willing to take pay cuts. If you and the crew will do it for less, do it for the love, it'll endure. Human greed is powerful though, even most enthusiasts will balk at this reality and will prefer the higher pay over the nostalgia. Getting enthusiasts in charge of these industries is a non-starter. You might get one or two people but you aren't going to get a team. Reply - alan.campbell99 bigdragon said:Bioware can pick their gravesite in the EA graveyard. There are spots next to Westwood, Origin Systems, Bullfrog, and Maxis available. We really need to get enthusiasts in charge of industries. So many perfectly viable companies are getting wrecked by MBAs that are treating these institutions like trading cards instead of Legos.Ahh, I remember Bullfrog from my Amiga days, Syndicate for one. Reply - blppt Its not even remotely the Bioware that made those legendary games. IIRC, they didn't have a single designer left employed from that era.Reply - helper800 I would say anything after Dragon Age: Origins, or so, was when the death spiral started. Most everything after than had been, 'not my Bioware,' type of design.Reply
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