BioWare, the Canadian studio known for the Mass Effect and Dragon Age role-playing series, will be closed after 31 years in operation. The announcement came from its parent company, Electronic Arts (EA). Development of the next game in the Mass Effect universe, which was at an early stage, has been halted.
The decision follows a change of ownership at EA. The company was acquired for $55 billion by an investor group that includes the Saudi Arabian state investment fund, Silver Lake and the firm Affinity Partners. As Bloomberg reports, layoffs at EA have followed: more than 400 people will lose their jobs, about 50 of them employees of BioWare itself.
In a message to staff, quoted by gaming outlets, EA's management explained that after months of analysing the business it had decided to concentrate resources on its most successful franchises. These were named as sports simulators, along with Apex Legends, Battlefield, Star Wars Jedi and a new project about Iron Man.
We are making considered decisions across our entire portfolio, to direct talent and investment where we see the greatest opportunities for players and long-term growth.
— From a message from Electronic Arts management
BioWare was founded in 1995, and Electronic Arts bought it in 2007. The studio won worldwide fame with Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its own series, Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Its recent projects, however, proved less successful. Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017) was criticised for technical flaws, and the multiplayer game Anthem (2019) failed to hold on to its audience. The studio's last game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in 2024, also fell short of the publisher's commercial expectations.
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