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Electronic Arts says BioWare is closing and that early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending. Bloomberg reports EA is cutting about 400 jobs company-wide, including roughly 50 at BioWare; the fate of Amazon’s Mass Effect series was initially unclear, but IGN later reported it remains in development.
Electronic Arts is closing BioWare and ending early development on its next Mass Effect project, the company said in an announcement to staff. Bloomberg separately reports that EA is cutting about 400 jobs company-wide, including roughly 50 at BioWare, making the closure a major change for a studio known for role-playing games including Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
EA executives Cam Weber, president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, president and COO, described BioWare as a studio that helped define the role-playing genre and said the decision was not taken lightly. In its own message, BioWare said that after more than three decades, the studio was closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project was ending.
The company’s statement focused on supporting the BioWare team through the closure. EA did not disclose a full breakdown of the reported job cuts, and the approximately 400 total and 50 BioWare positions come from Bloomberg’s reporting, rather than figures in the quoted company announcement.
The status of other EA projects is not the same as BioWare’s: EA’s company-wide message described work continuing on Marvel’s Iron Man and a new Star Wars Jedi title. EA also said Respawn and DICE would collaborate on a future project. The announcement described several additional changes across the publisher’s portfolio.
The End of a Major RPG Studio
BioWare’s closure ends the operation of a studio associated with several long-running game series. Its games include Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and Mass Effect. For players, the most direct consequence is that the next Mass Effect project described in the staff announcement will not proceed in early development under BioWare.
The reported reductions also affect workers beyond the studio. If Bloomberg’s figures are accurate, the BioWare cuts are part of a wider EA workforce reduction of about 400 positions. The company has not provided a detailed public accounting of who is affected or what the closure means for individual staff members.
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Recent Strains at BioWare
The closure follows a difficult period for the studio. The source report notes that Mass Effect: Andromeda, released in 2017, was widely viewed as a setback for the franchise, while BioWare’s 2019 live-service game Anthem did not meet expectations described in the report. EA also laid off some BioWare staff in 2025 after Dragon Age: The Veilguard missed sales expectations, according to the source material.
The decision comes after EA was taken private in a $55 billion deal led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. The deal closed in August, according to The Verge’s report. The source also places EA’s changes amid broader gaming-industry job cuts, but does not establish that those other companies’ actions caused EA’s decision.
“BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly.”
— Cam Weber, EA president and chief studios officer, and David Tinson, EA president and COO
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Open Questions on Jobs and Mass Effect
EA’s announcement, as described in the source material, does not specify when BioWare will close, how the reported job reductions will be implemented, or whether affected employees will be reassigned elsewhere at EA. The company has not publicly detailed the next Mass Effect project’s development status beyond saying early development is ending.
The report initially said the status of Amazon’s Mass Effect television series was unclear: Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment, and EA had no information to share at that point. IGN later reported Wednesday evening that the series remains in development. That update does not provide further details about production timing or how the show may be affected by the game studio’s closure.
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EA’s Remaining Projects
EA has not announced a schedule for the closure or provided a public plan for the affected BioWare staff. The next concrete information to watch for is an explanation of staff support, job assignments and the timing of the shutdown, as well as any clarification about the next Mass Effect project.
EA’s staff announcement points to other work continuing across the company, including Iron Man and a new Star Wars Jedi title. The company also outlined changes to other franchises and studios, but gave no detailed release dates for the projects mentioned in the source material.
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Key Questions
Is EA shutting down BioWare?
Yes. EA confirmed BioWare is closing in an announcement to staff, and BioWare’s own message described the studio as closing after more than three decades.
What happens to the next Mass Effect game?
EA said early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending. The source material does not give further details about the project or whether any of its work will be used elsewhere.
How many jobs are affected?
Bloomberg reports that EA is cutting about 400 jobs overall, including roughly 50 at BioWare. EA’s quoted announcement did not provide a full breakdown of the reported cuts.
Is Amazon’s Mass Effect TV series canceled?
The source report says IGN reported the series remains in development. Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment when asked, and the report provides no production schedule or further details.
Will EA continue making other BioWare games?
The source material confirms the studio is closing and early development on the next Mass Effect project is ending. It does not describe a plan to continue BioWare’s other series under a different team or label.
Source: hn
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