BioWare has shut down. The team in Edmonton, Canada was working on a new Mass Effect game, which is now cancelled.
This is part of EA’s “Next Chapter” as the game publisher frames it as it refocuses on its internal studios’ efforts. Bloomberg reports that this means 400 people are being laid off, with around 50 of them are from BioWare.
BioWare was a powerhouse of RPG maker, and influential enough that for a time, it was the face of “Western RPGs.” Before Larian made the killer game that is Baldur’s Gate 3, BioWare was behind the first two games. Obsidian became famous for its RPG offering were off the heels of making sequels of BioWare titles including Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. Mass Effect and Dragon Age are the two most prominent original IPs that defined the gaming landscape during the early 2010s. With Mass Effect, BioWare married third-person cover shooters with an in-depth RPG with conversations with consequences that go across three whole games. Dragon Age is more in line with the developer’s previous high-fantasy work, but set in a new, grim universe that’s full of fascinating worldbuilding.
BioWare lost its magic by the late 2010s until today. Mass Effect Andromeda, a whole new game set to be a fresh new start after the trilogy concludes was received poorly that Montreal studio that headed that project was closed not long after. After that, BioWare dabbled with online multiplayer shooters with Anthem, which not only failed, but was not given the chance to redeem itself before eventually being shut down for good. Its last hurrah was Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which isn’t the best BioWare game by any means, especially in the storytelling aspect, but not without its charm. It didn’t meet internal expectations, however.
While BioWare may be gone, its spirit will live on. Exodus is looking to fill that Mass Effect niche, while there’s a new follow-up to Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic that’s in the works.
EA Confirms Upcoming Slate Of Games In Development
The internal memo, which EA has published to the public, outlined the current focus for the publisher as it enters its “Next Chapter,” as the company recently went private after being acquired by an investor group which includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Jared Kushner worth $55 billion USD. AP News describes this as “largest-ever private equity buyout.”
Bloomberg also mentions that this acquisition is a leveraged buyout, in that the owners took up loans to make the purchase and place said debt on the purchased company.
As such, layoffs and efforts to refocus by spending less is an unfortunate, but expected, outcome that we just now see unfold as part of this business transaction.
The internal memo reaffirms the following titles are in the works:
- New shooter by Respawn and DICE
- Marvel’s Iron Man (previously leaked and confirmed)
- Next Star Wars Jedi game (follow up to Star Wars Jedi Survivor)
- The return of Fight Night
- New “social-first open world experience” from EA Sports American Football team, Project Gridiron
EA also reaffirms that Battlefield 6 and Apex Legends are still supported. The new Skate will continue as a live service, though the team are also impacted by layoffs.