Electronic Arts Shuts Down BioWare and Cuts 400 Jobs

Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare, the studio behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, and closing its workspace in Edmonton. The decision follows the underperformance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and a broader corporate restructuring that eliminates approximately 400 positions, representing roughly 3% of the company's total workforce.

As part of these cuts, the company is canceling work on the next Mass Effect game and pausing development on The Sims' Project Lotus to prioritize Project Evergreen. EA is also reducing the team size for the game skate. These moves come after EA went private in August via a $55 billion leveraged buyout led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which left the company with approximately $18 billion in debt.

Despite the closure of BioWare, EA will continue investing in Apex Legends, Marvel's Iron Man, and the Star Wars Jedi series. The company is also developing an open-world football game called Project Gridiron and is in pre-production for a new Fight Night title.