Electronic Arts (EA) announced on Wednesday the 21st the closure of BioWare, a studio recognized for titles such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Consequently, the development of the next Mass Effect game, which had been announced in 2020, has been canceled.
BioWare itself released the news through a message on its social media, expressing gratitude to players and acknowledging the work of its developers over more than three decades of existence.
This closure occurs just two months after the completion of EA's acquisition by a consortium led by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), a transaction valued at US$ 55 billion.
According to Bloomberg reports, EA plans to lay off about 400 employees, which corresponds to approximately 3% of its workforce. Of this number, it is estimated that about 50 positions belonged to BioWare.
In an internal communication accessed by the publication, EA executives indicated that the company conducted a business analysis in recent months. This decision is part of a financial restructuring process following the acquisition, which left the company with about US$ 18 billion in debt.
EA had already notified investors about its intention to reduce annual costs by US$ 700 million, which includes cuts related to organizational structure.
Despite the closure of BioWare, the company guaranteed that it will maintain investments in other franchises, such as Battlefield, Apex Legends, its sports games, as well as future projects like the next Star Wars Jedi and Marvel’s Iron Man.
Founded in 1995 by Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare established its fame with RPG games characterized by complex narratives, memorable characters, and choices that impact the unfolding of stories. Among its works are Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect.
The studio was incorporated into EA in 2007 and has faced recent challenges, including the poor reception of Anthem and changes in its development teams. Its most recently released title was Dragon Age: The Veilguard, in 2024.
The project for the new Mass Effect, which had been in development since its announcement in 2020 but received few public updates, has been formally terminated. In its farewell, BioWare emphasized that its priority is to support the professionals affected by the change and thanked the community that followed its franchises. The closure marks the end of a studio fundamental to defining Western RPGs and raises uncertainty about the future of several EA intellectual properties.