On a Wednesday, BioWare, the Canadian studio that spent more than three decades shaping role-playing games with stories players carried into their own lives, announced it was closing its doors. The decision lands in the wake of a broader upheaval, as its parent Electronic Arts completes a $55 billion sale to a consortium of investors and cuts about 400 jobs across the company. Its farewell looks backward rather than forward, honoring the worlds that players argued over and loved more than their makers had planned. For a studio whose strongest work once seemed timeless, the closing marks a quie
EA Shuts Down BioWare, Cancels Next 'Mass Effect' Amid 400-Person Layoffs
About 400 people are being laid off across EA, including about 50 at BioWare, according to a Bloomberg report.
A studio built on single-player stories is closing after more than three decades
Mark
Why does this closure land harder than a typical layoff?
Mimi
Because BioWare wasn't a minor studio. It made "Baldur's Gate," "Knights of the Old Republic," "Mass Effect." Its own farewell talks about players debating choices and falling for characters.
Mark
And the next Mass Effect is gone with it.
Mimi
Yes, the fifth game since 2007, already in development, now canceled.
Luke
Let's be careful about the numbers. The 400 layoffs come from a Bloomberg report, and the AP is relaying it. EA hadn't responded when this was published.
Mark
So what do we know about the BioWare share?
Mimi
About 50 people there, per Bloomberg. The other roughly 350 aren't placed in the reporting.
Luke
And the sale? It closed, $55 billion, with PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. But nothing here says the sale caused the closure. The timing is reported; the cause is not.
Mark
What does the reporting say about BioWare's recent record?
Mimi
"Anthem" in 2019 didn't find a lasting audience, and both "Andromeda" and "The Veilguard" got mixed reviews.
Luke
Which is context, not an explanation. No one in the source says those results drove this decision.
Le Pouls
- A studio that helped define modern role-playing games posted its closure notice on social media, shortly after a leak signaled the cuts were coming.
- The canceled fifth Mass Effect game takes with it a franchise hope that fans had carried since 2007.
- About 400 people are losing their jobs across Electronic Arts, with roughly 50 of those cuts landing at BioWare.
- Silence from EA on the layoffs and the closure leaves the reasons, and the reach of the cuts, unsettled.
- Following a $55 billion buyout by a Saudi-backed group and investment partners, the company's future direction is still being shaped.
On a Wednesday, BioWare, the Canadian studio that spent more than three decades shaping role-playing games with stories players carried into their own lives, announced it was closing its doors. The decision lands in the wake of a broader upheaval, as its parent Electronic Arts completes a $55 billion sale to a consortium of investors and cuts about 400 jobs across the company. Its farewell looks backward rather than forward, honoring the worlds that players argued over and loved more than their makers had planned. For a studio whose strongest work once seemed timeless, the closing marks a quiet end to one chapter of an industry in flux.
On Wednesday, BioWare announced on social media that it was closing, just after a Bloomberg report said its parent company, Electronic Arts, was preparing to cut jobs and shut the studio down. For more than thirty years, BioWare made role-playing games, and its closure brings an end to the next Mass Effect, the fifth entry in a series that began in 2007. That project, already in development, has been canceled.
Bloomberg reported that about 400 people are being laid off across EA, roughly 50 of them at BioWare. Where the remaining cuts fall has not been disclosed, and EA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The timing coincides with EA's $55 billion sale to a group that includes Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF, Silver Lake Partners, and Affinity Partners. No reason for the closure has been given, and it is not clear whether the sale played a role.
In its farewell, BioWare looked back with pride, saying what generations of its people built together deserved to be celebrated and remembered. The studio, founded in Canada in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007, had built its name on epic adventures like Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect. Its more recent efforts, including the multiplayer shooter Anthem and the latest Mass Effect and Dragon Age entries, struggled to win over critics and fans. What comes next for those franchises, and for the people affected, remains to be seen.
On Wednesday, BioWare posted a message on social media announcing that it was closing. The studio had spent more than three decades making role-playing games, and the announcement came shortly after a Bloomberg report said its parent company, Electronic Arts, was about to cut jobs and shut it down.
The closure takes the next "Mass Effect" game with it. That project, in development before the shutdown was announced, would have been the fifth in the series since 2007. It has been canceled.
Bloomberg reported that EA is laying off 400 people in total, about 50 of them at BioWare. The source does not say where the other roughly 350 cuts fall. Representatives for EA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the layoffs.
The timing sits alongside a major change in who owns EA. The Redwood Shores, California-based maker of "Battlefield" and "The Sims" has closed the $55 billion sale of its business to a group made up of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF, the investment firm Silver Lake Partners, and Affinity Partners, which is run by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The reporting does not state a reason for the closure or say whether the sale drove the decision.
In its farewell, the studio looked backward. "What generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember," it said, adding that the games became more than their makers intended because players debated their choices, fell for the characters, and made the worlds their own.
BioWare, based in Canada, was founded in 1995 and acquired by EA in 2007. It built its name on immersive role-playing adventures, from sword-and-sorcery fantasies such as "Baldur's Gate" and "Dragon Age" to science fiction epics such as "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" and "Mass Effect."
More recent years were harder. In 2019 the studio tried a multiplayer shooter, "Anthem," a move away from its strength in compelling single-player narratives. It never found the kind of loyal audience that keeps online hits like "Fortnite" and "Overwatch" going. The latest entries in its two most popular original franchises, 2017's "Mass Effect: Andromeda" and 2024's "Dragon Age: The Veilguard," drew mixed reviews and disappointed many fans.
What to watch now: whether EA or its new owners comment on the decision, how the 400 layoffs are distributed across the company, and what becomes of the "Mass Effect" and "Dragon Age" properties.
Citations marquantes
What generations of BioWare built together is something to celebrate and remember.— BioWare, in a social media statement
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