EA closes Mass Effect, Dragon Age creator BioWare after 30 years of game development
By Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic creator BioWare is closing its doors following three decades of gaming development.
The renowned studio—which was taken over by Electronic Arts in 2007 through VG Holding Corp—revealed the announcement in a message on social media. “There is nothing simple about penning those statements,” the announcement states. “Our priority at this moment is on our exceptionally skilled team who devoted their efforts to these games, and supporting each other during this transition.” Bloomberg News further indicates that EA is also dismissing 400 workers, 50 of whom were engaged at BioWare on a new installment in the Mass Effect franchise.
As per Bloomberg, the additional 400 job cuts result from the cancellation, scaling back, and reallocation of other initiatives. A prospective installment in the Sims series, codenamed “Project Lotus,” has been shelved, while another title, codenamed “Project Evergreen,” is being prioritized. Resources are also being redirected from Full Circle Studios’ online skateboarding game, skate, although development on the game remains active. It appears Respawn and DICE studios are set to collaborate on a new title, which is “likely” to be another installment in the Star Wars: Battlefront series.
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EA chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber reportedly dispatched a letter to EA personnel stating that these choices followed a “rigorous assessment of the business” conducted over recent months. “Throughout our portfolio, we’re making intentional selections to align talent and investments where we perceive the highest opportunities for players and sustainable growth,” the letter articulated.
These job cuts come a few months after a consortium of investors, including the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners acquired EA in a $55 billion deal. Numerous developers criticized the acquisition, with EA employees informing GameDeveloper.com that they only received “ambiguous reassurances” regarding the company’s future after the agreement was finalized.
