Electronic Arts is closing BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, according to a recent letter to employees. The closure includes the company's Edmonton studio, and the letter also confirms that early development of the next Mass Effect game has been canceled.
Over its 31-year history, BioWare was also responsible for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate. EA acquired the studio in 2008 and went private itself in August. In its letter, the company called BioWare a "legendary studio" but gave the studio only a few lines of attention.
A small team had been working on the early stages of the next Mass Effect title, but EA said it "made the decision not to move forward with this development." The game was first announced in November 2020 and teased the following month with a trailer on EA's Mass Effect YouTube channel. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition remaster of the original trilogy followed in 2021, and apart from Dragon Age: The Veilguard in 2024, the studio has been relatively quiet since.
The letter centered instead on three priorities: Deepen Our Core, Expand Our Reach, and Transform Our Business. EA described Battlefield 6 as "a great success" and said it is focusing on Apex Legends modes, Marvel's Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game. Under the EA Sports banner, "Project Gridiron" is a social-first, open-world experience built around American football, while a Fight Night revival is in pre-production. EA also said it would "prioritize [its] efforts on 'Project Evergreen,'" a reference to The Sims.
Employees affected by the closure will be supported "in exploring other opportunities within EA." The company did not say how many jobs are involved. Nor did it declare the Mass Effect or Dragon Age series finished, and it made no mention of BioWare's already-released games.
The reception of Dragon Age: The Veilguard may have played a part, although EA did not say so. The company said early last year that the game engaged only about "1.5 million players during the quarter," which was "down nearly 50% from the company's expectations." Around that time, BioWare general manager Gary McKay said only "a core team" was working on the next Mass Effect and that it did not "require support from the full studio," with colleagues matched "with other teams at EA."
Job cuts are common across the games industry. In July, for example, Microsoft announced 3,200 Xbox job cuts, citing low margins.
EA gave no release dates for major titles. It plans to discuss its direction and upcoming work with staff at its Global Town Hall in November. For now, the company appears to be concentrating on its core franchises and closing the studio to refocus on what has been working.
