EA to close BioWare, cancel new Mass Effect and cut about 400 jobs, Chinese outlets report
In short
Electronic Arts (EA) is closing the BioWare studio, which made Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and has cancelled a new Mass Effect game that was in early development, Chinese tech outlets reported on 22 October. They said about 400 jobs, around 3% of staff, are being cut, including about 50 at BioWare.
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Chinese tech outlets reported on 22 October that Electronic Arts (EA) will close BioWare, the studio behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect role-playing games, and has cancelled a new Mass Effect game that was in early development. Gcores said EA will cut about 400 jobs, about 3% of its staff, including about 50 at BioWare. IT Home, citing an unnamed person familiar with the company's planning, gave the same figures. [ 1 , 3 ]
IT Home said Bloomberg saw an internal letter sent to staff on Wednesday by chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber. They wrote that over the past months the company had carried out a deep review of its business and would cut some projects, including BioWare's next Mass Effect. They also wrote that EA is allocating talent and money to areas that create the most value for players and have long-term growth potential. cnBeta quoted EA as saying BioWare is a legendary studio that shaped the RPG industry and that the decision was not taken lightly. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The outlets tied the cuts to EA's finances. EA went private in August in a $55 billion leveraged buyout led by a Saudi investment fund, which left it with about $18 billion in debt. Earlier in the year it told investors it planned to save up to $700 million, partly by cutting research and development spending. cnBeta said management had demanded the cuts. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
BioWare was founded in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007. IT Home said it released hit Dragon Age and Mass Effect games in its first years under EA, but that Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem were poorly received. Its latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, sold below expectations, and EA had already cut the studio's size last year. cnBeta said fewer than 100 staff remained before the closure, most of them working on early research for the next Mass Effect. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
EA also cancelled Project Lotus, a game in The Sims series, and will give priority to another Sims project, Project Evergreen. It will keep developing the skate game with a smaller team. EA said it will keep investing in sports games, Apex Legends, and action-adventure projects including the next Star Wars Jedi game and a new Iron Man game. The Battlefield series continues, and Respawn and DICE will work together on a new project that is likely a new Star Wars Battlefront game. cnBeta added that preparation for a Fight Night game has begun and that a new open-world American football game has been approved. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
cnBeta reported that fans and developers posted tributes, and that an executive at CDPR expressed regret, recalling that BioWare once lent CDPR a game engine for the first Witcher game. It said former BioWare writer Patrick Weekes guessed the new owners' values may have contributed. cnBeta said EA keeps the Mass Effect and Dragon Age rights, with no word of a restart or sale, and that the fate of Amazon's Mass Effect series is unclear. It also quoted a BioWare farewell statement that the current priority is to place laid-off staff properly. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The outlets link the closure to EA's August leveraged buyout, its roughly $18 billion in debt and a plan to save up to $700 million, partly by cutting research and development spending. EA said it will keep investing in sports games, Apex Legends, Star Wars and Iron Man projects and the Battlefield series.
Key facts
- EA is closing BioWare and has cancelled a new Mass Effect game that was in early development. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- About 400 jobs, around 3% of EA's staff, are to be cut, including about 50 at BioWare. [ 1 , 3 ]
- EA completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout in August that left it with about $18 billion in debt. [ 1 , 3 ]
- EA earlier told investors it planned to save up to $700 million, in part by cutting research and development spending. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- EA cancelled a The Sims game codenamed Project Lotus and made Project Evergreen a priority. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The skate game will continue with a smaller team. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard sold below expectations, and EA had already scaled back BioWare last year. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- EA is closing BioWare and has cancelled the new Mass Effect game in early development. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- EA cancelled the Project Lotus Sims game and made Project Evergreen a priority; skate continues with a reduced team. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- EA completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout in August and planned savings of up to $700 million, partly through cuts to research and development spending. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard sold below expectations. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- EA's COO David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber told staff in a letter that the company had reviewed its businesses and would cut some projects. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- How many BioWare staff are affected. Gcores and IT Home put the BioWare cuts at about 50, while cnBeta says fewer than 100 staff remained before the closure; no document says what happens to the rest.
- The total of about 400 job cuts. IT Home attributes the figure to an unnamed person familiar with EA's plans; Gcores gives it without naming a source.
- What happens to the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises and to Amazon's Mass Effect TV series. cnBeta says EA keeps the rights but there is no news of a restart or sale, and the TV project's fate is not yet clear.
- Whether the Respawn and DICE joint project is a new Star Wars Battlefront game. The outlets only say this is likely or rumoured.
- Whether the new owners' values contributed to the decision. cnBeta reports this only as a guess by former BioWare writer Patrick Weekes.