BioWare, the Canadian developer best known for its role playing franchises, will close after Electronic Arts decided not to proceed with early development of the next Mass Effect, EA said in a company statement. The announcement follows a round of layoffs at EA that Bloomberg reported affected about 400 employees, including roughly 50 roles at BioWare.
EA said the decision was part of a broader strategic refocus. In a memo, Cam Weber and David Tinson described an industry with intensifying competition and shifting player habits. They said the company will concentrate teams, technology, and investment on three priorities they named as Deepen Our Core, Expand Our Reach, and Transform Our Business.
The publisher said it will continue to invest in its biggest franchises and live services. EA singled out ongoing work on sports titles, Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends, and action adventure projects such as Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi 3 and EA Motive’s Marvel’s Iron Man. Variety reported Respawn and DICE are collaborating on what is reportedly Star Wars Battlefront 3.
EA added it had maintained a small BioWare team working on early development for Mass Effect. The company said it would not move forward with that project and that it would close the studio and the Edmonton workspace. IGN reported that the Prime Video live action Mass Effect show remains in development at Amazon MGM Studios, and that co showrunner Daniel Casey had publicly rejected claims the series was being rewritten to appeal to non gamers.
Impact And Reactions
Industry observers and fans reacted to the news with surprise and concern. Bloomberg framed the studio closure as part of the wider layoffs at EA. The company emphasized it would keep investing in Apex Legends and future Battlefield titles while making fewer simultaneous, large scale action adventure projects.
EA also confirmed continued work on other areas it calls Lifestyle, keeping some Sims projects and pausing others. The publisher highlighted two new sports related initiatives, including Project Gridiron and a revival of Fight Night, while saying it would focus on smaller, more focused teams for certain live service titles like Skate.
Mike Gamble, an executive producer for Mass Effect at BioWare, posted on social media that fan support had meant everything to him over his 17 years at the studio. The closing marks the end of a chapter that included Dragon Age Inquisition’s franchise best sales, the troubled launch of Anthem, and the long development cycle for Dragon Age The Veilguard.
EA’s recent shift follows its move to go private in a leveraged buyout worth $55 billion, backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, an event noted in coverage of the company’s strategic changes. Bloomberg and IGN provided reporting on the layoffs and the status of the Mass Effect TV adaptation respectively, and Variety supplied reporting on internal EA studio projects.
